Suburban Cook County continues to worsen in COVID metrics

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COVID Lansing

With Region 2 announcement, all 11 IL regions will be operating under tighter COVID restrictions

By Josh Bootsma

LANSING, Ill. (November 3, 2020) – With Governor Pritzker’s announcement on Sunday that Region 2 would be the next domino to fall to tighter COVID-19 mitigation measures, all 11 regions in Illinois will be subject to resurgence mitigation efforts starting on Wednesday, November 4. Region 10, of which Lansing is a part, has continued to worsen in COVID-related metrics since it was placed under tighter restrictions on Wednesday, October 28.

“Region 2 has now sustained an average positivity rate of 8 percent or higher for three consecutive days, meaning that now every region in Illinois will soon be operating under resurgence mitigations,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “I know that the vast majority of people in this state want to keep themselves safe, their families and children safe, their parents and neighbors and friends. I have always maintained enormous faith in the people of Illinois to do what’s right for each other. As cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are rising across our state, across the Midwest and across the nation, we have to act responsibly and collectively to protect the people we love.”

Where’s Lansing in this process?

Lansing is part of Region 10, in which mitigation efforts went into effect on Wednesday, October 28. When the announcement about the tightened restrictions was made on October 26, Region 10 had had eight consecutive days of increases in test positivity and seven days of increased hospital admissions. The seven-day rolling average positivity rate has continued to increase every day since the announcement was made. As of this writing, the most recent seven-day rolling average positivity rate is 10.1% on October 30. That average rate has doubled since the beginning of October.

Hospital admissions have also continued to increase since the announcement of mitigation measures last week.

“The mitigation measures soon to be implemented across the entire state of Illinois have been established to protect your health and the health of those around you,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “These mitigation measures are not meant as a punishment, but as a way to help all of us co-exist with COVID-19 more safely.”

When can we go back to normal Phase 4?

There are three criteria that must be met for Region 10 to have the recently-implemented measures removed:

  • The positivity rate in Region 10 must average less than or equal to 6.5% over a three-day period,
  • There must be a decrease in hospital admissions for COVID-19-like illness over a three-day period,
  • And the three-day rolling averages of ICU bed availability and medical/surgical bed availability must be greater than or equal to 20% over a seven-day period

However, if the average positivity rate continues to increase over 7 out of 10 days, and the hospital admissions for COVID-19-like illness continues to increase over 7 out of 10 days, more stringent mitigations can be applied. Given the current trends in Region 10 as of this writing, more stringent measures may be a possibility.

What are the COVID restrictions?

Below is a list of the restrictions that Lansing, and soon, all of Illinois, is operating under:

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 currently apply to schools.


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