IL COVID – 19 Update #126

 

REGION 1 IS IN THE DANGER ZONE

 

Region 1 hit 8% on Friday and MAY face mitigation if the positivity rate does not decrease within a day or two.

 

Region 1 includes Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, Jo Daviess, Lee, Ogle, Stephenson, Whiteside, and Winnebago.

 

CHICAGO EASES COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS

 

Effective Thursday, October 1st, at 5:00am, the following guidelines will come into effect for the City of Chicago:

• Increased Indoor Capacity: Restaurants, health and fitness centers, personal services, non-essential retail and all other establishments that have been limited to 25% indoor capacity will now be able to increase their maximum indoor capacity to 40%. The limit of 50 total customers within one room or space at restaurants, venues and other establishments will remain in place, as will the limit of no more than six people per table.

• Reopening of Bars: Breweries, taverns, bars and other establishments that serve alcohol without a food license may reopen with indoor seating, at 25% capacity or 50 people, whichever is fewer. Service remains limited to no more than two hours per party, and customers must be seated when eating, drinking or ordering – patrons cannot walk up to the bar to order.

• Extended Hours for Bars and Restaurants: Bars, restaurants and other establishments that serve alcohol will now be able to sell alcohol for on-site or off-site consumption until 1:00 am and may remain open until 1:30 am. Liquor stores, grocery stores and other establishments that sell alcohol to-go through a Packaged Goods license must continue to cease alcohol sales at 9:00 p.m.

• Increased Group Size: Maximum group size for health and fitness classes and after-school programming will increase from 10 to 15 people.

• Expanded Personal Services: Facials, shaves and other personal services that require the removal of face coverings will be allowed.

Updated reopening guidelines can be found at chicago.gov/reopening.

 

The following ADDITIONAL guidelines will also come into effect on Thursday, October 1st: 

• When dining out at a food service establishment or bar, customers must always wear face coverings while seated, except when actively eating or drinking. This protects employees that may interact closely with patrons

• Patrons at indoor bars, taverns and breweries must order from their seats – they cannot walk up to the bar to order.

• Bars, taverns and breweries that are reopening indoors must partner with a food establishment so that food is available to patrons at all times (e.g., making menus available and allowing delivery, allowing patrons to order from third-party delivery services).

• When taking reservations and seating walk-in customers, restaurants and bars should retain an email and/or phone number for possible contact tracing.

• Personal services that require the removal of face coverings are recommended to be kept under 15 minutes, and the employee conducting the service must always wear a face covering.

•  All places of business should provide hand sanitizer for patrons and employees to use upon entry.

STATE COVID-19 IMPACT UPDATE

 

In the last 24 hours there has been 1,709 new confirmed cases and 13 deaths.

 

IDPH is reporting a total of 289,639 cases, to date, including 8,614 deaths.

 

The state has conducted 5,520,652 tests to-date.

 

Additional information can be found here. COVID-19 stats by zip code can be found here.

 

CHICAGO COVID-19 IMPACT UPDATE

 

The per day averages citywide as of September 28th are 299 confirmed cases, 3,781 tests completed, and 3 deaths (based on a 7 day rolling average).

To date, there has been 79,440 confirmed cases in the City of Chicago with 2,952 confirmed deaths and a 4.3% positivity rate.

Additional information may be found here where you may select different data points such as zip code, ethnicity, age, gender, cases, tests, death, etc.

 

CURRENT REGION METRICS UPDATE

 

If the regions meet the metrics outlined below, then they COULD be subject to restrictions or mitigations outlined HERE.

 

You may find the regional metrics HERE.

 

Danger regions are marked in RED.

 

Region	Positivity Increases (7 Day Avg)	Hospital Admissions (7 Day Avg.)	<20% Med Surge Capacity	<20% ICU Surge Capacity	> 8% Positivity Rate (3 cons. days)
1. North	8	3	40%	48%	1 (8.0%)
2. North Central	1	2	42%	43%	0 (5.3%)
3. West Central	6	2	38%	40%	0 (5.8%)
4. Metro East	1	1	34%	40%	(7.1%)
5. Southern	4	2	50%	56%	0 (6.0%)
6. East Central	2	3	37%	45%	0 (2.4%)
7. South Suburban	2	4	30%	34%	0 (5.4%)
8. West Suburban	2	2	30%	41%	0 (5.4%)
9. North Suburban	2	2	38%	48%	0 (5.9%)
10. Suburban Cook	4	1	26%	34%	0 (5.1%)
11. Chicago	3	3	24%	30%	0 (4.5%)

 

NEW METRICS

 

As you are aware from IRMA’s last notice, the Administration will now use the following metrics to determine whether or not a region is moving forward or backward.

1. 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

 

2. Three consecutive days averaging ≥ 8% positivity rate

 

NEW REGIONS

1. NORTH: Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, Jo Daviess, Lee, Ogle, Stephenson, Whiteside, Winnebago
2. NORTH-CENTRAL: Bureau, Fulton, Grundy, Henderson, Henry, Kendall, Knox, La Salle, Livingston, Marshall, McDonough, McLean, Mercer, Peoria, Putnam, Rock Island, Stark, Tazewell, Warren, Woodford
3. WEST-CENTRAL: Adams, Brown, Calhoun, Cass, Christian, Greene, Hancock, Jersey, Logan, Macoupin, Mason, Mason, Menard, Montgomery, Morgan, Pike, Sangamon, Schuyler, Scott
4. METRO EAST: Bond, Clinton, Madison, Monroe, Randolph, St. Clair, Washington
5. SOUTHERN: Alexander, Edwards, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Marion, Massac, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Saline, Union, Wabash, Wayne, White, Williamson
6. EAST-CENTRAL: Champaign, Clark, Clay, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, De Witt, Douglas, Edgar, Effingham, Fayette, Ford, Iroquois, Jasper, Lawrence, Macon, Moultrie, Piatt, Richland, Shelby, Vermillion
7. SOUTH SUBURBAN: Kankakee, Will
8. WEST SUBURBAN: DuPage, Kane
9. NORTH SUBURBAN: Lake, McHenry
10. SUBURBAN COOK: Suburban Cook
11. CHICAGO: City of Chicago

MITIGATION MEASURES

 

Once a region meets the resurgence criteria, the following tiered menu of mitigation options will be considered. If sustained increases in health metrics continue unabated, further mitigations could be added from additional tiers.

 

SETTING	TIER 1	TIER 2	TIER 3
Bars and Restaurants	Reduced indoor dining and suspend indoor bar service	Suspend indoor dining and bar service	Suspend in-person dining; takeout only
Offices	Institute remote work for high risk individuals; continued emphasis on telework for as many workers as possible	Reduce office capacity with recommendations to resume remote work where possible	Institute remote work for all non-essential workers
Gyms	Reduce indoor capacity	Suspend organized indoor recreational activities	Suspend organized indoor and outdoor recreational activities
Retail	Reduce in-person capacity	Suspend in-person non-essential retail; online and curbside pick-up available for all	Suspend all non-essential retail; only essential retail open (i.e. grocery stores, pharmacies)
Salon and Personal Care	Institute temporary location shutdown tied to outbreak	Institute temporary location shutdown tied to outbreak with possible broader mitigations	Suspend salon and personal care operations

 

The metrics and mitigation information may be found HERE.