Monday marked a day of major changes as several regions of Illinois were allowed to relax their coronavirus restrictions even further as the state changed its mitigation guidelines.
The Illinois Health Department has announced that as a result of a change in employee contracts that will increase hospital workforce in the state, regions 8, 9, 10, and 11 may move from the most restrictive Tier 3 to Tier 2. In addition, Regions 1 and 6 may have met the metrics to move to Level 1, and Regions 3 and 5 may have met the metrics to return to Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois Plan.
“Hospital leaders have made it clear the importance of workforce in their ongoing response to this pandemic and have indicated that employee contracts will be extremely valuable in their ability to meet the needs of their communities,” said Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health said in a statement. “We are delighted to see most of our regions come out of Tier 3 mitigation with this change, and it is critical that we maintain this progress. With new variants of COVID-19 spread, it’s more important than ever to follow public health guidelines that keep people safe – wear and mask and keep your distance. “
Here’s an overview of where each region stands:
Phase 4 Restrictive measures:
Region 3 (West Illinois) –
Hancock, Adams, Pike, Calhoun, Jersey, Greene, Scott, Brown, Schuyler, Cass, Morgan, Macoupin, Montgomery, Christian, Sangamon, Logan, Menard, Mason
Region 5 (Southern Illinois) –
Marion, Jefferson, Wayne, Edwards, Wabash, Perry, Jackson, Franklin, Williamson, Saline, Hamilton, White, Gallatin, Union, Johnson, Pope, Hardin, Alexander, Massac, Pulaski
In this phase, meetings of 50 or fewer people are allowed and inside sales are allowed at bars and restaurants with capacity restrictions. For a full overview of what is allowed at this stage, click here.
Level 1 mitigation measures:
Region 1 (Northwest Illinois) –
Jo Davies, Stephenson, Winnebago, Boone, Dekalb, Carrol, Ogle, Whiteside, Lee, Crawford
Region 2 (West-Central Illinois) –
Rock Island, Henry, Bureau, Putnam, Kendall, Grundy, Mercer, Knox, Henderson, Warren, McDonough, Fulton, Stark, Marshall, Peoria, Tazwell, McLean, Woodford, Livingston, Lasalle
Region 6 (East-Central Illinois) –
Iroquois, Ford, Dewitt, Piatt, Champaign, Vermillion, Macon, Moultrie, Douglas, Edgar, Shelby, Coles, Cumberland, Clark, Fayette, Effingham, Jasper, Crawford, Clay, Richland, Lawrence
A move to this level means that indoor dining with limited capacity can resume, but only for establishments serving food. For a full overview of what is allowed in this layer, click here.
Level 2 mitigations:
Region 8 –
Kane, Dupage
Region 9 –
McHenry, Lake
Region 10 –
Cook in the suburbs
Region 11 –
Chicago
A move to this level means the reopening of cultural institutions such as museums and casinos. For a full overview of what is allowed in this layer, click here.
Level 3 Restrictions:
Region 4 (Southwest Illinois) –
Bond, Madison, St. Clair, Clinton, Washington, Monroe, Randolph
Region 7 –
Will, Kankakee
This is the most restrictive level and the level all of Illinois has been below since late last year. For a full overview of what is allowed in this layer, click here.
What does it take to get to each layer or stage?
Under state guidelines, a region can transition to Tier 2 mitigation measures if it sees a test positivity rate of less than 12% for three consecutive days and more than 20% of ICU and hospital beds are available, as well as decreasing COVID-19 hospitalizations in seven of the previous 10 days.
To get to level 1, regions need the following:
- A positivity rate of less than 8 percent for three consecutive days, as measured by the 7-day moving average; AND
- Greater than or equal to 20 percent available manned ICU beds and medical / surgical hospital beds for 3 consecutive days, based on a 3-day moving average; AND
- No sustained increase in the number of people in hospital with COVID-19 for seven days out of ten, averaged over seven days.
To get back to Stage 4, regions need the following:
- A test positivity rate of less than or equal to 6.5 percent for three consecutive days as measured by the 7-day moving average; AND
- Greater than or equal to 20 percent of available staffed ICU beds and medical / surgical hospital beds for three consecutive days, based on a 3-day moving average; AND
- No sustained increase in the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 for seven days out of ten, averaged over seven days.