ILLINOIS, USA — On Friday, May 14, the State of Illinois is set to move into the "Bridge Phase" of pandemic mitigations.
The Bridge Phase, which is a transitional phase between Phases 4 and 5, means higher capacity limits for restaurants, gyms, offices, festivals, and other public areas and events. In Phase 5 there are no capacity limits.
In a press briefing Thursday, May 6, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said Phase 5 could come as early as Friday, June 11. Though Phase 5 doesn't mandate capacity limits, the governor said the state would continue to follow CDC guidelines where it comes to masking and social distancing.
Governor Pritzker announced an initiative to get more families vaccinated by expanding vaccine distribution to physicians offices. Doctors can sign their practices up to become vaccine providers to their patients. More than 1,000 offices have signed up as of Thursday.
"We have the vaccine, all we need is the doctors," said Governor Pritzker.
Other initiatives have been announced for vaccinated people, including free admission into the Abraham Lincoln Museum in Springfield and the chance for free admission into Six Flags.
The State of Illinois was reporting a total of 1,361,666 cases of COVID-19 as of Friday, May 14.
That news coincides with statements from Governor Pritzker saying that Illinois statewide could soon move into a "bridge phase," which will allow for higher capacity limits and more business operations to come back.
