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COVID-19

IL COVID – 19 Update #82

By May 29, 2020No Comments

NOTE: The Governor announced that as a result of entering Phase 3, he will no longer be conducting in-person daily briefings. There have been 82 such briefings. These daily briefing summaries that IRMA has produced will report on the metrics on a daily basis and any news developments related to COVID-19 as required. 

GOVERNOR’S BRIEFING

As expected, Governor JB Pritzker issued a new Emergency Order which brings to an end the stay-at-home order. The new EO is called the It is similar but not identical to the expiring order. What follows is a summary. Please note this is a summary. Details can be found at links to sector specific guidance found below. 

  • everyone must continue to practice social distancing and ‘wear a face covering when in public and unable to maintain a six-foot social distance’;
  • gatherings are limited to no more than 10 other than the exemptions found on page 6. They are churches, emergency services/functions, and governmental functions.
  • ALL businesses must continue to evaluate whether or not an employee can work from home and encourage work from home when possible; ensure employees practice social distancing including wearing face coverings including in break rooms; ensure that all visitors practice social distancing but when not possible at all times encourage visitors to wear a face mask; and prominently post the workplace safety guidance from the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Office of the Illinois Attorney General. 

Retailers must:

  • provide face coverings to all employees who are not able to maintain social distance at all times;
  • cap occupancy at 50% of store capacity or at the occupancy limits based on store square footage set by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) (currently 5 people per 1,000 square feet);
  • communicate social distancing to consumers thru in-store signage, public service announcements, and advertisements; 
  • discontinue the use of reusable bags. 

Restaurants and bars must (which includes grocery stores):

  • suspend on-premise consumption except as permitted by DCEO guidance. This pertains to outdoor dining but only where allowed by local government
  • carry-out, drive-thru and delivery is still allowed;
  • bars and restaurants in airports, hospitals and dining halls in colleges and universities are exempt from this Executive Order;
  • Hotel restaurants may continue room service.

Fitness/exercise gyms can only engage in one-on-one personal training or outdoor training in groups no larger than 10. They may also sell merchandise or stream classes so long as it is conducted by a single trainer.

Personal service facilities must enforce masks, social distancing, capacity limits and follow IDPH/DCEO guidance

All businesses must:

  • enforce social distancing, have hand sanitizer and sanitizing products readily available for employees and customers;
  • implement separate operating hours for elderly and vulnerable populations
  • provide employees with face coverings 

Illinois is now in Phase 3 of Restore Illinois. The EARLIEST any region will be able to move into the next phase, Phase 4, is June 26th assuming they meet the required metrics

RETAIL SECTOR GUIDANCE & TOOL KITS

As businesses re-open, it is important to follow the guidelines as closely as practical. For each retail sub-sector the Toolkit link includes checklists for health screenings. Retailers are strongly encouraged to review and implement these as quickly as possible. If you are a business that has remained open, you are 

REGIONAL PROGRESS REPORT

Under the Governor’s Restore Illinois plan, in order to move from Phase 2 to Phase 3, each of the four medical regions must have a surge capacity of at least 14% for hospital beds, ICU beds and ventilators. The positivity rating for the region must be under 20% for a 14-day period. Any number in red means that region has not met the capacity requirement for that category. These numbers are calculated on 14-day rolling periods with a 3-day delay. Readers can find all the stats below, and more, here

REGIONHOSPITAL BEDSICU BEDSVENTILATORSPOSITIVITY RATE
Northeast28.4% 32.3%67.8%14.1%
North central38.6%43.4%60.8%6.7%
Central47.8%51.2%75.1%2.6%
South46.5%40.5%81.3%4.9%

RETAIL CARES 

IRMA launched a campaign called Illinois Retail Cares. It is an effort to tell the story of the many efforts retailers have undertaken during the pandemic to meet the needs of the hungry, healthcare workers, first responders, etc. These are efforts above-and-beyond the herculean efforts retailers have undertaken to meet the demands of consumers. Each week new stories will be told. If you have a story to share, we would love to share it! Please email your story to us today.    

ILLINOIS COVID-19 IMPACT UPDATE

Today, the following COVID-19 states were announced. In the last 24-hours, there were 1,622 new cases in Illinois, including 86 additional deaths.  IDPH is reporting a total of 117,455 cases, to date, including 5,270 deaths, in 101 of Illinois’s 102 counties. Only Scott County in west-central Illinois reports no COVID-19 cases to-date. 

Over the last 24-hours, the state has conducted 25,513 tests for a total of 855,479 to-date.  

As of midnight last night, 3,599 individuals were hospitalized for COVID-19. Of those, 980 (27.23%) are in the ICU occupying 25.93% of the 3,779 staffed ICU beds. Of those in the ICU, 593 (60.5%) are on ventilators or 10.15% of the 5,840 staff ventilators. 

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

FACE COVERINGS SUPPLIERS

In order to assist retailers in the procurement of facial coverings for employees, IRMA has created a place on it’s website. Retailers can review and contact the supplier of their choice on IRMA’s website