CHICAGO — Another one of Illinois' regions is under resurgence after holding a COVID-19 positivity rate of more than 8% for three days in a row.
Region 3, encompasses the west-central portion of Illinois. It includes Hancock, Adams, Pike, Calhoun, Jersey, Greene, Scott, Brown, Schuyler, Cass, Morgan, Macoupin, Montgomery, Christian, Sangamon, Logan, Menard, and Mason counties.
On Thursday, October 29 the region hit 8.8% positivity. On Sunday, November 1 the region will start operating under resurgence mitigations.
Region 2 remains the sole region across the state that is below 8%, said Governor Pritzker. The governor said that with a positivity rate of 7.9%, that may not remain the case for very long.
“Something has got to give, and these mitigations aim to cut down on those high-risk activities until we bring down the positivity rate in an area once again. Because let’s be clear: well-meaning and reasonable people can have fair disagreements about how and where to draw lines and connect dots – but when every single metric in every single corner of the state is trending poorly, we have to take meaningful action to keep our people safe," said Governor J.B. Pritzker.
Region 11 is expected to pick up mitigation measures on October 30.
During his briefing on Wednesday, October 28, the governor said Region 2 was up to a 7.7% positivity rate, which increased from 7.2% on Monday. Region 2 has 20 counties, including: Rock Island, Mercer, Henderson, Warren, Knox, McDonough, Fulton, Henry, and Bureau Counties.
Here's what will change for Region 3:
Bars
- No indoor service
- All outside bar service closes at 11:00 p.m.
- All bar patrons should be seated at tables outside
- No ordering, seating, or congregating at bar (bar stools should be removed)
- Tables should be 6 feet apart
- No standing or congregating indoors or outdoors while waiting for a table or exiting
- No dancing or standing indoors
- Reservations required for each party
- No seating of multiple parties at one table
Restaurants
- No indoor dining or bar service
- All outdoor dining closes at 11:00 p.m.
- Outside dining tables should be 6 feet apart
- No standing or congregating indoors or outdoors while waiting for a table or exiting
- Reservations required for each party
- No seating of multiple parties at one table
Meetings, Social Events, Gatherings
- Limit to lesser of 25 guests or 25 percent of overall room capacity
- No party buses
- Gaming and Casinos close at 11:00 p.m., are limited to 25 percent capacity, and follow mitigations for bars and restaurants, if applicable
These mitigations do not apply to schools or polling places.
On Thursday, there were 6,363 new cases reported, with 56 new deaths. 9,675 people have died from COVID-19 in Illinois.
There were 3,030 people in the hospital overnight.
