Starting Saturday, October 3, stricter mitigations to help curb COVID-19 will be put in place in Region 1. This area encompasses counties in northwestern Illinois: Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, Jo Daviess, Lee, Ogle, Stephenson, Whiteside and Winnebago counties.
According to a statement from the governor's office, the region has seen a 7-day rolling average positivity rate of 8% or higher for three days in a row. Those numbers put the region under the state's Restore Illinois Resurgence Plan.
The following changes will commence Saturday:
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
Schools are not included in these changes.
These changes will remain in place until Region 1 can drop its positivity rate under 6.5% or under. If the positivity rates grow, more strict mitigations may be applied.