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CHICAGO (CBS) — Indoor dining and bar service restrictions in Will and Kankakee counties rolled back further on Monday, as the Illinois Department of Public Health announced that region is now back in Phase 4 of the state’s reopening plan.
Suburban Cook County is next in line, as IDPH announced it’s on track to enter Phase 4 on Tuesday.
Under Phase 4, the state’s rules for indoor service at bars and restaurants are eased further, allowing for parties of up to 10 people per table. Tables must still be spaced at least six feet apart, and impermeable barriers should be installed between booths that are less than six feet apart. The state’s limits on when bars and restaurants may be open also are lifted in Phase 4, although those businesses are still subject to local rules regarding hours of operation.
In addition, retail stores and personal care services such as barber shops and salons are allowed to operate at 50% of normal capacity.
Indoor recreation facilities such a bowling alleys and skating rinks may reopen at 50% capacity. Museums remain limited to 25% capacity, with guided tours limited to 50 people or fewer per group.
Meetings and other social events are limited to 50 people or 50% of room capacity, whichever is less.
To move back to Phase 4 of the state’s reopening plan, a region must get it’s 7-day average test positivity rate to 6.5% or lower for three days in a row, must have at least 20% of its intensive care unit beds available for for three days in a row, and must not have had any sustained increase in COVID hospitalizations for 7 of the past 10 days.
IDPH said suburban Cook County is on track to meet all of those benchmarks and enter Phase 4 on Tuesday.
Meantime, the state reported 2,312 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 on Monday, as well as 16 more deaths.
Since the start of the pandemic, Illinois has reported a total of 1,128,613 cases, including 19,259 deaths.
The statewide 7-day average case positivity rate in Illinois now stands at 3.9%, tied for the lowest it’s been since Oct. 9. During the second surge of the pandemic in October and November, the state’s case positivity rate peaked at 13.2% on Nov. 13, and — other than a nearly two-week rise after Christmas — has dropped steadily ever since.
As of Sunday night, 2,387 coronavirus patients were hospitalized in Illinois, the fewest statewide since Oct. 20. Of those hospitalized Sunday night, 515 were in the ICU and 278 were on ventilators. Coronavirus hospitalizations in Illinois peaked 6,175 on Nov. 20, and have been falling steadily since, though they’re still well above the average of 1,500 hospitalizations per day at the start of the fall surge.
Meantime, Illinois has received a total of 1,829,575 doses of COVID-19 vaccines so far, and has administered 996,410 doses. Over the past week, Illinois is averaging 43,378 doses administered per day.
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