[ad_1]
The city of Chicago is officially entering Phase 4 of the Illinois coronavirus mitigation plan with continued improvements in positivity rates and hospitalizations, the Illinois Department of Public Health said on Sunday.
Depending on the settings for Phase 4, indoor service in bars can resume, with indoor service continuing in restaurants, according to the IDPH website.
The move means that more than half of the state’s healthcare regions have now moved to Phase 4 mitigation rules. Most suburban communities remain under Tier 1 mitigation measures, which allow the meals inside but not the bar service inside.
Under normal circumstances, moving to Phase 4 would increase capacity limits for dining establishments inside, but city officials say restaurants and bars will be required to meet Level 1 limits on those numbers. . Interior service is limited to 25% or 25 people or less per room, with no table exceeding six customers inside.
Bar service is also allowed to 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, according to the mayor’s office.
“We continue to see great progress in the ongoing fight against COVID-19, and I am delighted that our measures continue to move in the right direction,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a statement. domestic service last weekend, it would be irresponsible to rush to increase capacity too quickly. With cases and positivity rates still higher than before the second flare-up, now is the time to keep protective measures in place to ensure continued progress and hopefully avoid any backtracking. to come up . “
The city managed to lower the mitigation rules by lowering its positivity rate below 6.5% for three consecutive days. That number has remained stable at 6.4% in recent days, according to data from the IDPH. The availability of beds in the city’s ICUs has steadily remained above 20% for 11 consecutive days, while hospitalizations from COVID-19 have declined in each of the past 10 days.
When Chicago moves to Phase 4, the following regulations will be in place:
- Indoor meals and indoor events will remain limited to the lesser of 25% capacity or 25 people per space
- Most other industries will be limited to the lesser of 40% capacity or 50 people
- Seating at the bar will be permitted and the size of the table inside may increase to six people
- Non-essential business curfew will be repealed
- Bars and restaurants will be able to extend opening hours until midnight, without alcohol service after 11 p.m.
In a press release, city officials said if the numbers continue to fall, they say a “hasty return to greater domestic capacity would pose a serious risk” of curtailing the progress that has been made.
“We have just resumed our safe meals indoors, and while we are delighted to make this move, we must continue to be thoughtful and careful as we reopen,” said Dr Allison Arwady, department commissioner. of Chicago Public Health, in the press release. . “The last thing we want is to cause a third wave of viruses by rushing to fully reopen the riskier environments where masks are removed and people congregate nearby.”
In addition, health officials said it was “standard public health practice” to monitor the impact of any significant mitigation changes for at least two weeks, noting that Chicago had returned to the dining room less. a week earlier.
Illinois health officials on Saturday reported 3,345 new cases of COVID-19 along with 65 additional deaths attributed to the virus.
According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, the new cases on Friday brought the total number of confirmed cases statewide to 1,123,873 since the start of the pandemic. The deaths reported on Friday brought the death toll to 19,203.
In the past 24 hours, Illinois officials said 107,802 test samples were returned to state labs, placing the state at 15,952,421 tests performed during the pandemic.
The seven-day rolling positivity rate across all tests was 4%, remaining the same as the day before. The positivity rate for the unique individuals tested dipped slightly to 5.1% on Saturday.
[ad_2]
Source link