[ad_1]
CHICAGO (CBS) – Three areas in Illinois may begin to roll back COVID-19 restrictions that had been in place statewide since just before Thanksgiving, and although restaurant and indoor bar service is not still cleared, Governor Pritzker said on Friday that will be cleared to occur sooner than expected.
Regions that will move to Level 2 of the state’s virus mitigation plan on Friday include Region 1 (northern Illinois, including Jo Davies, Stephenson, Winnebago, Boone, Dekalb, Carrol, Ogle, Whiteside, Lee and Crawford), Region 2 (north -central Illinois, including the counties of Rock Island, Henry, Bureau, Putnam, Kendall, Grundy, Mercer, Knox, Henderson, Warren, McDonough, Fulton, Stark, Marshall, Peoria, Tazwell, McLean, Woodford, Livingston and Lasalle), and Region 5 (southern Illinois, including the counties of Marion, Jefferson, Wayne, Edwards, Wabash, Perry, Jackson, Franklin, Williamson, Saline, Hamilton, White, Gallatin, Union, Johnson, Pope, Hardin, Alexander, Massac and Pulaski).
The other eight regions, including Chicago and the suburb of Cook County, remain subject to the Level 3 restrictions that have been in place statewide since November 20, but Pritzker said most of those areas in the Illinois were on track to upgrade to Level 2 in the coming days if their viral trends continue, according to CBS Chicago.
For Level 3 attenuations to be restored to Level 2, a given region must have a 7-day average test positivity rate of less than 12% for at least three consecutive days, have more than 20% of its hospital beds and intensive care unit beds available for three consecutive days and the number of hospitalizations attributable to COVID has declined in 7 of the past 10 days.
Although the move to level 2 will not allow restaurants and bars to resume indoor service, it will allow gyms and fitness centers to resume group fitness classes, for the return of young people to low risk and recreational sports, and for the reopening of museums, theaters and other cultural institutions at a capacity of 25%. Casinos will also be allowed to reopen at 25% capacity, according to CBS Chicago.
Originally, indoor dining and bar services would not have been permitted until a region was able to revert through Tier 2 and 1 mitigation measures to Phase 4 of the plan. economic reopening of Restore Illinois. But Pritzker said on Friday the state was revising its COVID-19 restrictions to allow indoor food and bar service to resume when regions are able to return to Level 1 mitigations.
To move from level 2 to level 1, a region must have a 7-day average positivity rate of less than 8% for three consecutive days, have at least 20% of its hospital beds and intensive care unit beds. available for three consecutive days. , and have not had a sustained increase in COVID hospitalizations for 7 of the past 10 days, according to CBS Chicago.
Pritzker said as part of the new plan when a region upgrades to level 1 food and bar service inside will be allowed with a capacity limit of 25 people or 25% of normal capacity per room. , and no more than four people per room. table.
Rules for indoor dining and bar services will be further relaxed when regions can move to phase 4 of the state’s reopening plan. To do this, an area must have a test positivity rate of 6.5% or less for three consecutive days, according to CBS Chicago.
According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, when an area returns to Phase 4 of the reopening plan, the food and beverage service inside will remain at 25% capacity, but up to 10 customers will be allowed per table, although tables should be spaced out. at least six feet away.
The announcement that dining and indoor bar service may resume earlier than planned comes a day after Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she wanted Chicago bars and restaurants allowed to reopen “as soon as possible, ”and said she would talk to Pritzker how to get there.
The governor said he spoke to Lightfoot and said that while Chicago is not yet ready to go back to Level 1, or even Level 2 mitigations, he said he hoped Chicago could. soon to start revoking its restrictions, based on its current viral tendencies. , according to CBS Chicago.
“They are really going in the right direction,” Pritzker said. “It’s not random decision making. We’ve been very clear, and I think transparent, on what the metrics are, based on science, based on doctors’ recommendations, and you’ve seen other areas go to level 2 and are, frankly, on a trajectory to reach level 1 fairly quickly. “
Meanwhile, Pritzker also announced that Illinois will begin Phase 1B of its vaccination plan on January 25, when the vaccine is made available to people aged 65 and over and workers in essential non-medical industries like teachers, grocery store workers, police, firefighters, paramedics and more.
The governor said that starting next week, the state will also bring hundreds of vaccination sites online, including pharmacies, National Guard mobile teams and mass vaccination sites run by the. State in northern, central and southern Illinois to expand Phase 1A. vaccination efforts to immunize frontline healthcare workers, according to CBS Chicago.
As of Tuesday, the Illinois National Guard was ordered to activate new mobile teams to help local health departments administer vaccinations. The state is deploying two of these teams to Cook County Health sites, with nearly two dozen more teams ready to deploy statewide as Illinois vaccine supply increases, according to Pritzker .
Once Phase 1B of the state’s immunization plan began on Jan. 25, Pritzker said mass vaccination sites; as well as the Walgreens, CVS and Jewel-Osco sites will begin vaccinating people statewide, according to CBS Chicago.
People will need to make an appointment online first, and Pritzker said the state will launch its COVID-19 vaccination plan website soon so people can find sites in their area. region and register for appointments.
While Pritzker and Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr Ngozi Ezike said they remained frustrated with the slow delivery of vaccines by the federal government so far, the governor said that he was confident the new Biden administration will increase vaccine production and delivery, according to CBS Chicago.
According to the IDPH, a total of 995,000 doses of the vaccine have been delivered to Illinois so far. As of Thursday evening, a total of 447,348 doses were administered.
“The amount of vaccines entering Illinois… is still at a trickle,” Ezike said. “It’s not as much as we want, or as much as we need, but we are working to get the vaccine that is delivered to Illinois into people’s arms as quickly, fairly and efficiently as possible. possible.”
President-elect Biden laid out a $ 1.9 trillion plan to fund his immunization efforts and provide economic aid to Americans still struggling during the pandemic, according to CBS Chicago.
His plan calls for an investment of $ 20 billion in a national immunization program, including community immunization centers and mobile immunization units. The proposal also includes stimulus checks of $ 1,400 and more for the unemployed, those facing food shortages, those at risk of deportation and those in need of child care.
Copyright 2021 WIFR. All rights reserved.
[ad_2]
Source link