By Rocio Hernandez

On November 7, Mayor Robert J. Lovero announced on Facebook that the City will not issue citations against restaurants who defy Governor JB Pritzker’s order banning indoor dining in suburban Cook County. The increased COVID-19 mitigations from the state are a result of increased positivity rates in our suburbs including Berwyn and Cicero.

According to Northwestern University's COVID Dashboard, Berwyn has a rolling 7-day positivity rate of 22.5%. This means almost one in four tests is coming back positive in Berwyn! The World Health Organization recommends a positivity rate of 5% or lower for fourteen days in order to re-open our communities. We are over 4 times higher than that.

We know Latinx and Black communities have been disproportionately impacted by COVID and that is no exception in Berwyn. I'm concerned that our health is not being prioritized at the local level. We cannot turn a blind eye when we have already lost 50 neighbors to COVID-19. I do not want to see that number continue to rise.

I understand the concern for the financial wellbeing of our local businesses. I treasure these gems in our community; I have made it a point to get take out often to support them. But their success cannot come at the cost of lives lost. We have to find creative and most importantly, safe ways to support them.

It is irresponsible for the Mayor to condone the opening of restaurants for indoor dining in our community. It is a slap in the face to our essential workers, to community members who have lost loved ones, and to those of us who have been unable to see loved ones in person. I'm very disappointed and hope the Mayor will more carefully consider the very real human cost of his decision to condone the opening of indoor dining despite state restrictions recommending the exact opposite. It is not a game when my neighbors’ lives and health are at stake.

Rocio Hernandez is a resident of Berwyn. An edited version of this statement was read at the November 10 Berwyn city council meeting. As of November 16, the number of deaths in Berwyn has increased to 55 according to the Medical Examiner's office.