GOVERNOR ANNOUNCES CHANGES TO METRICS, REGIONS, AND MITIGATION MEASURES
A short time ago, Governor JB Pritzker announced substantial changes to the regions and metrics Illinois will use to determine the protocols to be followed in different settings.
The press release may be found HERE.
REGIONS
Until today, the Governor had combined Illinois’s 11 Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Regions into four. However, as of today, those four regions have been broken back up in to their original 11 regions.
- NORTH: Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, Jo Daviess, Lee, Ogle, Stephenson, Whiteside, Winnebago
- NORTH-CENTRAL: Bureau, Fulton, Grundy, Henderson, Henry, Kendall, Knox, La Salle, Livingston, Marshall, McDonough, McLean, Mercer, Peoria, Putnam, Rock Island, Stark, Tazewell, Warren, Woodford
- WEST-CENTRAL: Adams, Brown, Calhoun, Cass, Christian, Greene, Hancock, Jersey, Logan, Macoupin, Mason, Mason, Menard, Montgomery, Morgan, Pike, Sangamon, Schuyler, Scott
- METRO EAST: Bond, Clinton, Madison, Monroe, Randolph, St. Clair, Washington
- SOUTHERN: Alexander, Edwards, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Marion, Massac, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Saline, Union, Wabash, Wayne, White, Williamson
- EAST-CENTRAL: Champaign, Clark, Clay, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, De Witt, Douglas, Edgar, Effingham, Fayette, Ford, Iroquois, Jasper, Lawrence, Macon, Moultrie, Piatt, Richland, Shelby, Vermillion
- SOUTH SUBURBAN: Kankakee, Will
- WEST SUBURBAN: DuPage, Kane
- NORTH SUBURBAN: Lake, McHenry
- SUBURBAN COOK: Suburban Cook
- CHICAGO: City of Chicago
A map of the resurgence plan regions may be found HERE. (It may not be updated as of this writing).
METRICS
Additionally, the Administration will now use the following metrics to determine whether or not a region is moving forward or backward. The metrics that will trigger mitigation include the following:
- 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
* The current standard is a 14 day rolling average.
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.
ILLINOIS COVID-19 IMPACT UPDATE
In the last 24 hours there has been 1,187 new confirmed cases and 8 deaths. COVID cases are steadily increasing.
IDPH is reporting a total of 156,693 cases, to date, including 7,226 deaths.
The state has conducted 2,079,601 tests to-date.
Additional information can be found here. COVID-19 stats by zip code can be found here.
REGIONAL PROGRESS REPORT
These numbers are calculated on 14-day rolling periods with a 3-day delay. Readers can find all the stats below, and more, here.
| REGION | HOSPITAL BEDS | ICU BEDS | VENTILATORS | POSITIVITY RATE |
| Northeast | 32% | 42% | 74% | 4% |
| North Central | 44% | 53% | 75% | 4% |
| Central | 39% | 44% | 80% | 2% |
| South | 43% | 51% | 81% | 5% |
CHICAGO COVID-19 IMPACT UPDATE
In order for Chicago to move to the Moderate Incidence risk level which will allow the city to open up capacity to 50% and allow gatherings of up to 100 people, it has to get below 100 new cases per day and stay there for 14 days.
The per day averages citywide as of July 14th are 192 confirmed cases, 3,643 tests completed, and 4 deaths (based on a 7 day rolling average).
To date, there has been 55,567 confirmed cases in the City of Chicago with 2,696 confirmed deaths and a 5.3% 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.