CHICAGO (CBS) – Three regions of Illinois may begin to reverse the restrictions on COVID-19 that have been in effect across the state since just before Thanksgiving Day, and although indoor bar service and dining has not yet begun. allowed, Governor Pritzker said on Friday that it will be allowed to happen earlier than expected.
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 (Northern-Central Illinois counties, including Rock Island, Henry, Bureau, Putnam, Kendall, Grundy, Mercer, Knox, Henderson, Warren, McDonough, Fulton, Stark, Marshall, Peoria, Tazwell, McLean, Woodford, Livingston and Lasalle counties), 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 counties).
All eight other regions, including Chicago and the Cook County suburbs, remain under Level 3 restrictions that have been in effect across the state since Nov. 20, but Pritzker said most of those regions in Illinois are on their way to move to Level 2 in the next few days if your virus trends continue, according to CBS Chicago.
For Level 3 mitigations to revert to Level 2, a given region must have an average 7-day test positivity rate of less than 12% for at least three consecutive days, have more than 20 percent of its beds hospital and intensive care unit beds available for three consecutive days and with decreasing number of admissions for COVID in 7 of the last 10 days.
Although the move to Level 2 does not allow restaurants and bars to resume covered service, it will allow gyms and fitness centers to resume group gym classes, for the return of low-risk youth and recreational sports, and for the reopening of museums, theaters and other cultural institutions with a 25% capacity. Casinos may also reopen at 25% capacity, according to CBS Chicago.
Originally, the covered restaurant and bar service would not have been allowed until a region could return through Tier 2 and Tier 1 mitigations to Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois economic reopening plan. But Pritzker said on Friday that the state is reviewing its COVID-19 restrictions to allow in-house restaurants and bar services to resume when regions can return to Tier 1 reductions.
To move from Level 2 to Level 1, a region must have an average 7-day test positivity rate below 8% for three consecutive days, have at least 20 percent of its hospital beds and intensive care units available for three consecutive days, and have had no sustained increase in hospitalizations for COVID for 7 of the past 10 days, according to CBS Chicago.
Pritzker said, according to the new plan, when a region changes to Level 1, indoor meals 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 than four people per table.
The rules for internal meals and bar service will be made more flexible when the regions can move to Phase 4 of the state’s reopening plan. To do this, a region must have a test positivity rate of 6.5 percent or less for three consecutive days, according to CBS Chicago.
According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, when a region returns to Phase 4 of the reopening plan, the covered bar and dinner service will remain at 25% capacity, but up to 10 customers will be allowed per table, although tables they must be spaced at least six feet apart.
The announcement that covered bar and dinner service could resume earlier than originally planned comes a day after Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she wanted Chicago’s bars and restaurants to reopen “as soon as possible” and said she would speak to Pritzker on how to make that happen.
The governor said he spoke to Lightfoot and said that while Chicago is not yet ready to return to Tier 1, or even Tier 2 mitigations, he said he hopes that Chicago can begin to reverse its restrictions soon, based on trends current viruses, according to CBS Chicago.
“They are moving in the right direction,” said Pritzker. “This is not a random decision making. We’ve been very clear, and I think transparent, about what the metrics are, based on science, based on doctors’s recommendations, and you’ve seen that other regions are moving down to Level 2 and, frankly, on track to reach Level 1 relatively soon. “
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 aged 65 and over and workers in essential non-health sectors, such as teachers, grocery workers , police, firefighters, paramedics and more.
The governor said that starting next week, the state will also bring hundreds of vaccination sites online, including pharmacies, mobile National Guard teams and state-run mass vaccination sites in northern, central and southern Illinois, in order to to expand Phase 1A vaccination efforts to inoculate frontline health workers, according to CBS Chicago.
As of Tuesday, the Illinois National Guard has been ordered to activate new mobile teams to help local health departments administer vaccines. The state is sending two of these teams to Cook County health facilities, with nearly two dozen other teams ready to deploy across the state as Illinois vaccine supplies increase, according to Pritzker.
As soon as Phase 1B of the state’s vaccination plan begins on January 25, Pritzker said the mass vaccination sites; as well as the sites Walgreens, CVS and Jewel-Osco will begin to inoculate people across the state, according to CBS Chicago.
People will first have to book appointments online, and Pritzker said the state will launch its COVID-19 vaccination management plan website soon, so people can find locations in their area and sign up for appointments.
Although Pritzker and Illinois Department of Public Health director Ngozi Ezike said they were still frustrated by the slow pace of federal government vaccine distribution so far, the governor said he was confident that the next Biden administration would increase production and vaccine delivery, according to CBS Chicago.
According to IDPH, a total of 995,000 doses of the vaccine have been delivered to Illinois so far. As of Thursday night, a total of 447,348 doses have been administered.
“The amount of vaccine arriving in Illinois … is still decreasing,” said Ezike. “It is not as much as we want or as much as we need, but we are working to make the vaccine that is delivered to Illinois in people’s arms as fast, and as equitable and effective as possible.”
President-elect Biden outlined a $ 1.9 trillion plan to finance 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 stimulus checks for $ 1,400 and more money for the unemployed, those facing food shortages, those facing eviction and those in need of child care.
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