The State of Illinois extended the Stay at Home order until the end of May. The increased testing capabilities and the declining percentage of people testing positive for the Corona virus, Chicago is maintaining its course towards reopening the city safely.

Last May 8, Chicago Mayor, Lori Lightfoot, announced its framework for the reopening of the city called “Protecting Chicago”.  The framework organized in five (5) phases highlights how residents and businesses can transition from each stage, while prioritizing the safety of those susceptible to sickness.

 

Protecting Chicago

Phase 1 was a strict stay-at-home period which rapidly slowed down the spread of COVID-19. At Phase 2, residents are advised to guard against unsafe interactions to continue flattening the curve. By Phase 3, some businesses can open. Chicago City aims to cautiously reopen at this stage but should be done with strict compliance to physical distancing and wearing of masks.

The goal of the last two phases of the framework is to further reopen the city while ensuring the safety of its community. The main concern of the last stages is to continue protecting the vulnerable population, so that they, too, can eventually resume their life back to normal. Residents are also advised to get tested if presenting symptoms throughout the whole framework.

 

Maintaining Safety Standards

Now that the city has gone from Phase 1 to Phase 2 of the framework, we also gear up for the cautious reopening of small businesses. Along with that, we established standard operating procedures for indoor and outdoor sessions to help us navigate through this sensitive period as a photo studio.

Currently, Chicago’s business department has officially allowed outdoor photo shoots. Although public parks are still closed as of the moment, there are still many locations where we can do our sessions provided that we adhere to the safety guidelines.

 

Chicago Baby Photographer wearing masks while taking pictures

 

We make it a point to ensure the safety of our clients and our staff. Sessions are kept to a minimum number of people. Everyone wears masks at all times, except for clients while taking images. The staff also maintains a safe distance from each other and from the clients.

Once Chicago moves to Phase 3, we will reopen our indoor sessions. We look forward to having you back in our studio!

 

Maintaining Your Safety

If you scheduled intimate gatherings, baby showers, or small parties in the upcoming weeks or months, keep the framework’s advisories in mind. At Phase 3, social gatherings can commence provided that it is limited to less than 10 people.

Wear masks and maintain physical distance from people you don’t live with. Continue making it a habit to wash your hands with soap after being outside. Let us keep following these procedures so we can keep protecting those who are most vulnerable.

 

We look forward to completely resuming our operations very soon. It will be slow-phased but our commitment and passion to capture special moments for our clients is definitely worth it!