Illinois public health officials announced 4,000 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, October 27.
Extra restrictions are set to be implemented in the City of Chicago as an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19. These new mitigations go into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, October 30.
A statement from Governor J.B. Pritzker’s office said the positivity rates and hospitalizations in Region 11 have been at a sustained increase for at least seven out of the last 10 days. Under the governor’s Restore Illinois Resurgence Plan, the increases exceed the threshold for what’s permissible before moving to the next phase of reopening.
This is what is included in Region 11’s mitigation measures:
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
The restrictions don’t apply to schools or polling places.
Region 11 will have to have a positivity rate of 6.5% or lower before the restrictions can be relaxed.
On Friday, October 23, half of Illinois' 102 counties were listed at a warning level for the virus.
