Information provided by the Illinois Department of Public Health
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (January 23, 2021) – The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced Region 10 (suburban Cook) and Region 11 (city of Chicago) are moving to Tier 1 effective January 23. Region 10 has been in Tier 2 since January 18.
A notable change for Cook County in Tier 1 is the allowance for restaurants to resume indoor dining at a 25 person or 25% capacity limit. Gatherings are also allowed up to 25 people or 25% of room capacity. Full Tier 1 restrictions can be viewed here.
IDPH will continue to closely monitor test positivity, ICU bed availability, and the number of people in the hospital with COVID-19. Should data show regions trending in the wrong direction, based on the established mitigation metrics, regions could once again find themselves in a higher tier with increased measures.

Metrics for moving from Tier 1 to Phase 4 are below:
- Test positivity rate ≤ 6.5% for three consecutive days (7-day average); AND
- Staffed ICU bed availability ≥ 20% for three consecutive days (7-day average); AND
- No sustained increase in COVID patients in hospital (7-day average for 7 of 10 days)
Information about mitigation and resurgence metrics can be found on the IDPH website at http://www.dph.illinois.gov/
Related
- IL announces Jan. 25 launch of Phase 1B COVID vaccinations (January 22, 2021)