CHICAGO (CBS) – Three Illinois states could begin imposing worldwide COVID-19 restrictions just before Thanksgiving, and while indoor dining and bar service will not yet be allowed, Governor Pritzker said Friday said will be allowed to happen sooner than expected.
The regions moving to Level 2 of the state’s virus mitigation plan on Friday include Region 1 (Northern Illinois, including Jo Davies, Stephenson, Winnebago, Boone, Dekalb, Carrol, Ogle, Whiteside, Lee, and Crawford counties), Region 2 (North Central Illinois, including Rock Island, Henry, Bureau, Putnam, Kendall, Grundy, Mercer, Knox, Henderson, Warren, McDonough, Fulton, Stark, Marshall, Peoria, Tazwell, McLean, Woodford, Livingston, and Lasalle), and Region 5 (Southern Illinois, including Marion, Jefferson, Wayne, Edwards, Wabash, Perry, Jackson, Franklin, Williamson, Saline, Hamilton, White, Gallatin, Union, Johnson, Pope, Hardin, Alexander, Massac, and Pulaski).
All eight other regions, including Chicago and the suburbs of Cook County, remain under Tier 3 restrictions that have been in effect worldwide since Nov. 20, but Pritzker said most regions of Illinois are on track to move to Tier 2 in the coming days as their viral tendencies apply, according to CBS Chicago.
To reverse Tier 3 mitigation to Tier 2, a given region must have an average test positivity rate of 7 days of less than 12% for at least three consecutive days, have more than 20 percent of its hospital beds, and intensive care unit beds available for three consecutive days, and has seen a decrease in COVID hospitalizations over the past ten days.
Although the move to level 2 does not provide for restaurants and bars to resume indoor service, it will provide for gyms and fitness centers to resume group fitness classes, for the return of lower-risk youth and leisure sports and for the reopening of museums, theaters and other cultural institutions with a capacity of 25 percent. Casinos will also be allowed to reopen at 25 percent, according to CBS Chicago.
Originally, indoor restaurant and bar service would not be allowed until a region was able to move back through Tier 2 and Tier 1 mitigation to Phase 4 of the Illinois recovery recovery plan. However, Pritzker said Friday the state is reviewing its COVID-19 restrictions to resume indoor dining and bar service when regions can move back to Tier 1 mitigation.
To move from Level 2 to Level 1, a region must have an average test positivity rate of 7 days below 8% for three consecutive days, have at least 20 percent of its hospital beds and beds for intensive care units available for three consecutive days. , and according to CBS Chicago has seen no sustained increase in COVID hospitalizations during 7 of the past ten days.
Pritzker said that under the new plan, when a region goes to Tier 1, indoor dining and bar service will be allowed with a capacity limit of less than 25 people or 25 percent of normal capacity per room, and no more than four people per table.
Rules for indoor dining and bar service will be further facilitated if regions are able to move to phase 4 of the state reopening plan. To do so, a region must have a test positivity of 6.5 percent or less for three consecutive days, according to CBS Chicago.
According to an Illinois Department of Public Health, an indoor dining and bar service will remain at a 25% capacity, when a region returns to Phase 4 of the reopening plan, but will allow up to 10 customers per table, though tables should be placed on top of each other at least six feet apart.
The announcement that indoor dining and bar service could resume sooner than originally planned comes a day after Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she wants bars and restaurants in Chicago to reopen “as soon as possible,” saying she will talk to Pritzker. about how to make it happen.
The governor said he spoke to Lightfoot and said although Chicago is not yet ready to move back to Tier 1, or even Tier 2 mitigations, he said he hopes Chicago can start reinstating its restrictions soon, based on current virus trends. , according to CBS Chicago.
“They’re moving a lot in the right direction,” Pritzker said. “It’s not a random decision. We were very clear, and I think transparent, about what the criteria are, based on science, based on the recommendations of doctors, and you have seen other regions move down to level 2 and honestly on a trajectory to relatively quickly to level 1 to come. ”
Meanwhile, Pritzker also announced that Illinois will begin Phase 1B of its vaccination plan on January 25, when the vaccine will be made available to people 65 and older and workers in essential health care industries such as teachers, grocery workers, police officers, firefighters. , paramedics, and more.
The governor said the state will also bring in hundreds of vaccination sites from next week, including pharmacy premises, National Guard mobile national teams, and state-run mass vaccination sites in Northern, Central and Southern Illinois to expand Phase 1A. vaccination efforts to vaccinate health workers in the front line, according to CBS Chicago.
As of Tuesday, the Illinois National Guard has been ordered to activate new mobile teams to help local health departments give vaccinations. The state is deploying two such teams to Cook County Health sites, with nearly two dozen other teams ready, according to Pritzker, to deploy across the state.
As soon as Phase 1B of the state’s vaccination plan begins on Jan. 25, Pritzker said mass vaccination sites; as well as Walgreens, CVS and Jewel Osco sites will start vaccinating people around the world, according to CBS Chicago.
People will first have to make appointments online, and Pritzker said the state will soon launch its COVID-19 vaccination administration website so people can find sites in their area and sign up for appointments.
Ngozi Ezike, director of the public health department in Pritzker and Illinois, said they remain frustrated with the slow pace of federal government vaccine distribution so far, but the governor said he was confident the incoming government in Biden will increase the production and delivery of vaccines. at CBS Chicago.
According to IDPH, a total of 995,000 doses of vaccine have been delivered to Illinois so far. As of Thursday evening, a total of 447,348 doses had been administered.
“The amount of vaccine coming into Illinois … is still failing,” Ezike said. “It’s not as much as we want or as much as we need, but we’re working to get the vaccine delivered in Illinois as quickly and as cheaply and as effectively as possible into the arms of people.”
President-elect Biden has outlined a $ 1.9 billion plan to fund his vaccination effort and provide economic relief to Americans still struggling during the pandemic, according to CBS Chicago.
His plan calls for a $ 20 billion investment in a national vaccination program, including community vaccination centers and mobile vaccination units. The proposal also includes $ 1400 stimulus checks, and more money for the unemployed, those who have food shortages, those who are evicted and those who need childcare.
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