GOVERNOR’S BRIEFING
Today, the Governor’s briefing focused on contact tracing.
NEW EXECUTIVE ORDER GUIDANCE
Today, Governor Pritzker;s new Executive Order took effect and will remain in effect thru May 30th. What follows is a summary of the requirements and links to guidance we have received as of this writing. Please note that with the exception of the facial covering requirement, all other requirements fall under the words “to the greatest extent possible” in the EO.
- Sign requirement. Retailer are required to post this sign.
- Occupancy limit. Retailers can choose to restrict occupancy to 50% of capacity or 5 people per 1,000 square feet. You may read the guidance here.
- Facial coverings. Facial coverings are required in public places or when working and unable to maintain a six-foot social distance. This requirement applies to anyone over the age of two who is able to medically tolerate a face-covering. The face covering must cover the nose and mouth. Employers must provide face coverings to all employees who are not able to maintain a minimum six-foot social distance at all times. IRMA is still awaiting the promised guidance on face clarifying that retailers are not required to confront customers.
- One-way aisles. One-way aisles are required “where practicable” with “conspicuous signage and/or floor markings”. IRMA is still awaiting the promised guidance on one-way aisles clarifying that front, back, and middle (if applicable) aisles are not included.
- Reusable bags. Retailers are to discontinue the use of reusable bags. This is where the words “where practicable” in the EO become important. Stores that don’t have bags, as an example.
- Communication to consumers. Communicate social distancing requirements “through in-store signage, and public service announcements and advertisements.”
- Households. Households must limit the number of members who enter stores to the minimum necessary. There is no enforcement requirement here and you will note it is listed separately from the requirements on ‘essential businesses’.
- Curbside. So called ‘non-essential stores are allowed to re-open for curbside and delivery fulfillment of telephone and on-line orders. The employees of the store must follow social distancing requirements and must wear a face covering within 6-feet of another employee or customer.
- Evaluations. All businesses are required to ‘evaluate’ which employees are able to work from home and are encouraged to facilitate remote work from home where possible. IRMA is still awaiting the promised guidance that retailers do not have to do such evaluations because retail employees cannot function from home.
- Whistleblower protections. On page 14, under the “Enforcement’ section, please note businesses are specifically prohibited from retaliating against an employee for disclosing information where the employee has reasonable cause to believe that the information discloses a violation of the Executive Order.
IRMA continues to regularly follow-up with DCEO. As soon as IRMA receives the promised guidance, we will forward to you.
CUSTOMER CONFRONTATIONS
IRMA has been inundated today by emails from members sharing reports of abusive confrontations with customers over customer failure to wear masks and the failure of local law enforcement to support. One small example, a grocery store in Peoria had a law enforcement official enter without a mask. When confronted by management and customers, he stated he was make a political statement. When the incident was reported to the police department, they dismissed it. There are many others
These stories must be told. It is important that members share those reports with IRMA as they happen including when, where, and what. If possible, pictures or surveillance video would also be important. Please forward reports to Alec Laird.
FACE COVERINGS SUPPLIERS
Beginning today, everyone will be required to wear a facial covering when they cannot maintain social distancing and are in a public place. In order to assist retailers in the procurement of facial coverings, IRMA will pass along supplier information as received. Retailers can review and contact the supplier of their choice on IRMA’s website.
ILLINOIS COVID-19 IMPACT UPDATE
Dr. Ngozi Ezike, MD, Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health announced 3,137 new cases in Illinois, including 105 additional deaths. IDPH is reporting a total of 56,055 cases, to date, including 2,457 deaths, in 96 of Illinois’ 102 counties.
Over the last 24-hours, the state has conducted 14,821 tests for a total of 284,688 to-date.
As of midnight last night, 4,900 individuals were hospitalized for COVID-19. Of those, 1,263 (25.8%) are in the ICU. Of those, 777 (61.5%) are on ventilators.
Additional information can be found here. COVID-19 stats by zip code can be found here.