The city of Chicago is officially moving into Phase 4 of Illinois’s coronavirus plan thanks to continued improvements in positivity rates and hospital admissions, the Illinois Department of Public Health announced Sunday.
Under the parameters of phase 4, back office sales can resume in bars, while back office sales will continue in restaurants, according to the IDPH website.
The move means that more than half of the state’s healthcare regions have now transitioned to Phase 4 mitigation rules. Most suburban communities remain under Tier 1 restrictions, allowing for indoor dining, but no in-house bar service.
Under normal circumstances, the move to Phase 4 would push up the capacity limits in indoor eateries, but city officials say restaurants and bars should adhere to Tier 1 limits for those numbers. Back office service is limited to 25% or 25 or fewer people per room, with no tables with more than six guests indoors.
Bar service may also resume in restaurants and bars, according to a press release from the city of Chicago.
The city’s “non-essential” curfew has also been lifted under the new regulations, the mayor’s office said.
“We continue to see great progress in the ongoing fight against COVID-19, and I am delighted that our statistics continue to move in the right direction,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a statement. back office last weekend, a rush to expand capacity too quickly would be irresponsible. With cases and positivity rates still higher than before the second wave, now is the time to take precautions to ensure continued progress and hopefully avoid any potential rollbacks in the future. “
The city achieved the mitigation rule reduction by reducing the positivity rate to below 6.5% for three consecutive days. That number has remained steady at 6.4% in recent days, according to data from IDPH. Bed availability in the city ICU has steadily remained above 20% for 11 consecutive days, while hospitalizations due to COVID-19 have declined each of the past 10 days.
When Chicago moves to Stage 4, the following regulations will be in effect:
- Indoor dining and indoor events are limited to the lesser of 25% capacity or 25 people per room
- Most other industries will be limited to the lesser of 40% capacity or 50 people
- Seating at the bar is allowed and the table can be increased to six people indoors
- Non-essential business curfew is withdrawn
- Bars and restaurants can extend opening hours until midnight, without alcoholic drinks after 11pm
In a press release, city officials stated that while the number continues to decline, they argue that a “rapid return to greater covered capacity would pose a serious risk” in reducing progress made.
“We have just resumed safe indoor dining, and while we are excited to take that step, we must remain thoughtful and cautious about our reopening,” said Dr. Allison Arwady, Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health in the press release. . “The last thing we want is to cause a third wave of the virus by rushing to fully reopen riskier environments where masks are removed and people gather close together.”
In addition, health officials stated it is “standard public health practice” to monitor the impact of a significant change in mitigation for at least two weeks, noting that Chicago returned to eating in less than a week earlier.
Health officials in Illinois reported 3,345 new cases of COVID-19 Saturday, as well as 65 additional deaths attributed to the virus.
According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, Friday’s new cases brought the total number of confirmed cases statewide to 1,123,873 since the start of the pandemic. The fatalities reported on Friday raised the death toll to 19,203.
In the past 24 hours, Illinois officials said 107,802 test specimens were returned to state laboratories, leaving the state with 15,952,421 tests conducted during the pandemic.
The seven-day progressive positivity rate in all tests was 4% and remained the same as the day before. The positivity rate for uniquely tested individuals dropped slightly to 5.1% on Saturday.