The city of Chicago is officially moving to phase 4 of the Illinois coronavirus mitigation plan thanks to continued improvements in positivity rates and hospitalizations, the Illinois Department of Public Health announced Sunday.
According to the parameters of phase 4, internal service in bars can be resumed, and internal service continues in restaurants, according to the IDPH website.
The move means that more than half of the state’s health regions have now passed phase 4 mitigation rules. Most suburban communities continue to be subject to level 1 mitigation, which allows food to be eaten indoors. , but not the indoor bar service.
Under normal circumstances, the move to phase 4 would increase capacity limits to indoor dining establishments, but city officials say restaurants and bars will have to adhere to level 1 limits on those numbers. Indoor service is limited to 25% or 25 or fewer people per room, with no tables exceeding six guests inside.
Bar service in restaurants and bars can also be resumed, according to a Chicago City press release.
The city’s “non-essential” curfew has also been lifted under the new regulations, according to the mayor.
“We continue to see great progress in the ongoing fight against COVID-19, and I am delighted that our metrics continue to move in the right direction,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a statement. domestic service last weekend, the rush to expand capacity too quickly would be irresponsible. With cases and positivity rates still higher than before the second rise, now is the time to maintain the guarantees set to ensure continued progress and hopefully avoid any setbacks in the future. “
The city achieved the reduction of mitigation rules by lowering its positivity rate below 6.5% for three consecutive days. This figure has remained stable at 6.4% in recent days, according to IDPH data. The availability of beds in the city’s ICU has consistently remained above 20% for 11 consecutive days, while hospitalizations for COVID-19 have decreased each of the last 10 days.
When Chicago moves to Phase 4, the following regulations will be established:
- Indoor food and indoor events will be limited to 25% of capacity or 25 people per space
- Most other industries will be limited to less than 40% capacity or 50 people
- Seats are allowed in the bar and the size of the indoor table can be increased to six people
- Non-essential business curfew will be restricted
- Bars and restaurants can extend their opening hours until midnight, without alcohol service from 11pm
In a press release, city officials said that while the numbers continue to decline, they say a “rushed return to greater internal capacity would pose a serious risk” of slowing progress.
“We have just resumed safe indoor meals and while we are thrilled to make this move, we must continue to be prudent and prudent in 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 completely reopen the riskiest scenarios where masks are removed and people get very close together.”
In addition, health officials said it is “a standard public health practice” to monitor the impact of any significant mitigation changes for a minimum of two weeks, noting that Chicago was eating covered again less than a week earlier. .
Illinois health officials reported Saturday 3,345 new cases of COVID-19 and an additional 65 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 pandemic began. The death toll reported on Friday raised the death toll to 19,203.
In the past 24 hours, Illinois officials said 107,802 test samples were returned to state labs, bringing the state to 15,952,421 tests performed during the pandemic.
The seven-day rotational positivity rate in all tests was 4%, remaining the same as the previous day. The positivity rate of the only people tested fell slightly to 5.1% on Saturday.