Another health care region in the state of Illinois is on track to reach Phase 4 coronavirus mitigation rules, as Region 7 is expected to reach that milestone on Monday.
According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, the region, comprised of Will and Kankakee counties, will meet the metrics required to move to the less-restrictive rules on Monday, provided it remains within the current thresholds.
In order for a region to move to Phase 4 mitigations, it must meet three key criteria. It must have a positivity rate of 6.5% or better for three consecutive days, an ICU bed availability of 20% or greater for three consecutive days, and it must show decreases or stability in hospitalizations for COVID on seven of the preceding 10 days.
Region 7 is hitting all of those metrics. The region’s positivity rate has dropped to 6.3%, while its ICU bed availability currently stands at 30%. Hospitalizations in the region have dropped or stayed stable on seven of the preceding 10 days.
When a region moves from Tier 1 mitigations to Phase 4, indoor service at bars can resume, with an occupancy limit of 25% or 25 people, whichever is lower. Up to six people can be at a table at a time, according to the coronavirus rules imposed by the state.
Bars and restaurants must stop serving alcohol at 11 p.m., and must be closed by midnight under Phase 4 mitigations.
Assuming Region 7 reaches Phase 4, it will become the seventh region in the state to move back to that level since the state began allowing regions to move forward in mid-January. Regions 8, 9 and 10 are all in Tier 1 mitigations, while Region 4, located in southwest Illinois, remains in Tier 2.
