Another Illinois region will see heightened coronavirus restrictions beginning this week as Region 3 triggered the state's mitigation plan, the ninth of Illinois' 11 regions to do so.
Region 3 in West-Central Illinois, will see the new restrictions, including the suspension of indoor dining, beginning Sunday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced.
Pritzker said Region 3 saw a positivity rate at or above 8 percent for three consecutive days. According to state data, the area's positivity rate as of Thursday was 8.8%.
“As of this morning, Region 3 – which encompasses Quincy, Springfield and much of West-Central Illinois – has now sustained an average positivity rate of 8 percent or higher for three days, today hitting 8.8 percent – meaning that, starting Sunday, they will join the majority of the state in operating under resurgence mitigations,” Pritzker said in a statement. “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.”
The new restrictions include:
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.
Local
Region 3 is one of several areas to trigger the heightened mitigations this week alone and the governor had warned that more locations could soon be added.
Pritzker said Wednesday that Region 2, Region 3 and Region 6 were all moving in an upward trend in terms of metrics, specifically positivity rates.
At the same time, health officials announced new coronavirus restrictions in the state's Region 9, which includes suburban Lake and McHenry counties, which are set to begin Saturday.
Additional mitigations take effect in a particular region if the area sees:
- Sustained increase in 7-day rolling average (7 out of 10 days) in the positivity rate and one of the following severity indicators:
- Sustained 7-day increase in hospital admissions for a COVID-19 like illness
- Reduction in hospital capacity threatening surge capabilities (ICU capacity or medical/surgical beds < 20%)
- OR three consecutive days averaging ≥ 8% positivity rate.
The state health department said it plans to track the positivity rates over the coming days "to determine if mitigations can be relaxed, if additional mitigations are required, or if current mitigations should remain in place."
The enhanced restrictions may lifted if the region's positivity rate averages 6.5% or lower and if there is a decrease in hospital admissions for COVID-19-like illnesses over a three-day period, and if the average hospital and ICU bed availability is greater than 20% for seven days.
