New mitigation measures hit the Metro East area and Suburban Cook Country.
Mayor Lightfoot’s announcement on Thursday, October 22 brought in new regulations and a curfew across Chicago in an effort to halt the second wave of Coronavirus. Along with it came a warning that if the positivity rate increases above 8% for three straight days, Chicago will be forced to go one step further and close indoor dining.
Well, it looks as though things could be edging towards further limitations as restaurants in Metro East area and Suburban Cook County will now be subject to additional mitigation measures as per Restore Illinois Resurgence Mitigation Plans. This includes a ban on all bars from serving on their premises starting on Wednesday, October 28 starting at 12:01 am.
Resurgence Mitigations will go into effect on Wednesday for Regions 4 and 10. Learn more: https://t.co/8HAFBBrZY2 pic.twitter.com/4Gi85qsT5Z
— IDPH (@IDPH) October 26, 2020
The Illinois Department of Public Health released the further mitigation measures on the evening of Monday, October 26 adding to those outlined by Lori Lightfoot the week previous. With over 4,000 new cases of COVID-19 in a 24-hour period places like Schaumburg, Rosemont, Palatine, Oak Lawn, and Orland Park have been ordered to stop indoor service as of October 28. The cap on crowds has also been lowered to 25, outdoor dining will need to close at 11 p.m, and outdoor dining tables should be spaced 6 feet apart.
State health officials citing increased hospitalizations and positivity rates in the region as the reasons for new regulations and with over 4,700 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Monday, October 26 it’s the first time the seven-day average has exceeded 4,500 since the world was rocked by Coronavirus. Governor JB Pritzker on Monday stated that Chicago’s positivity rate at the time of speaking rate was at 7.7 percent. He has since also confirmed an increase in testing across several regions.
One of our greatest tools is testing. People here in Peoria and across all of Region 2 are taking advantage of the testing we’ve ramped up for you. I’m pleased to see that testing in Region 2 is up 20% in the last two weeks alone.
— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) October 26, 2020
For now, Chicago is occupied with budget hearings and we wait to hear more.