Note: Gov. Pritzker's news conference can be watched live in the video player above beginning at around 1:30 p.m. CST.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is expected to discuss the state's response and new coronavirus mitigation restrictions in the Metro East region Monday afternoon, his office says.
Pritzker is scheduled to appear with local leaders at a news conference at 1:30 p.m. CST in East St. Louis, per his public schedule.
The news conference comes one day after Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health announced a series of new mitigation restrictions in southern Illinois due to ongoing increases in the positivity rate in Region 4.
Region 4 includes Bond, Clinton, Madison, Monroe, Randolph, St. Clair and Washington counties.
For the last three days in a row, the region has reported three consecutive days of positivity rates above 8%, automatically triggering new restrictions under the state’s regional mitigation plan.
According to state health data, the region has a positivity rate of 8.5% over the last seven days, and has seen admissions increases in hospitals over the last two days.
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The new restrictions include the closing of bars, restaurants and casinos in the region by 11 p.m., the closing of all party buses and the reduction of gathering sizes to 25 people or 25 percent of room capacity, whichever is lower.
The new restrictions will begin on Tuesday and remain in effect for 14 days, health officials say, and if numbers don’t begin to improve, more measures, including the closing of indoor bars and dining, could be implemented.
The region, adjacent to St. Louis, has frequently been mentioned by Pritzker in press conferences as one of the areas of the state where the positivity rate has been climbing in recent weeks.
Increasing positivity rate is one of the numbers that can automatically trigger additional restrictions, along with increasing hospital admissions, ICU availability and medical bed availability.
