Several health care regions in Illinois may be on track to roll back Tier 3 coronavirus mitigation rules in the coming days.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced last week that regions may be allowed to move forward from Tier 3 COVID-19 restrictions beginning this week, if they meet the required metrics.
The governor did not give a specific day in which a decision on lifting mitigations would be announced, but he said last week that the earliest regions could leave Tier 3 would be Jan. 15. He is expected to deliver a coronavirus update Monday afternoon. (Watch it live here)
In order for a region to move forward from Tier 3 restrictions, they must hit four key metrics. They must have a positivity rate of 12% or lower for three consecutive days, hospital and ICU bed availability of greater than 20% for three consecutive days, and they must report decreases in hospitalizations on seven of the 10 preceding days.
As of Monday morning, three regions were meeting those requirements.
Those regions include Region 2, which is located in west-central Illinois and includes LaSalle, Kendall and Grundy counties in the Chicago area; Region 3 in western Illinois, which includes Springfield; and Region 7, which is made up of Will and Kankakee counties.
Here is a look at where each region stands as of Monday morning:
News
Region 1 (Northwest Illinois):
This region is seeing declines in positivity rates, dropping to 10.1%, and hospitalizations, currently seeing declines on six of the last 10 days. Hospital bed availability is up to 25%, while ICU bed availability is still above the 20% threshold, but has dropped to 21.2%.
Region 2 (West-Central Illinois):
Positivity rates have largely steadied in this region at 9.2%. along with hospital bed (23.9%) and ICU bed (24.8%) availabilities. Hospitalizations have declined nine of the last 10 days, leaving this region within the threshold to move forward from Tier 3 mitigations.
Region 3 (West Illinois):
Hospital bed (22.7%) and ICU bed (22.4%) availability are both on the rise, with hospitalizations declining nine of the last 10 days. The region’s positivity rate is the lowest in the state, currently sitting at 8.2%.
Region 4 (Southwest Illinois):
This region has the highest positivity rate in the state, although it has dropped to 12.6% in recent days. The region’s hospital bed availability is the lowest in the state, sitting at 11.6%, and ICU bed availability is at 19.2%. Hospitalizations have increased each of the last three days in the region.
Region 5 (South Illinois):
This region has seen declines in positivity rates (9.6%) in recent days, and has reported declines in hospitalizations on five of the last 10 days. The region’s hospital bed availability remains the highest in the state at 33.7%, but its ICU bed availability is still below the 20% threshold, currently sitting at 17.5%.
Region 6 (East-Central Illinois):
This region’s positivity rate has increased to 9.9% in recent days, while hospitalizations have increased on seven of the last 10 days. Hospital bed availability (18.5%) and ICU bed availability (29.6%) have remained largely steady.
Region 7 (Will, Kankakee counties):
This region has seen its positivity rate steady at 11.4% in recent days, along with steadying hospital bed (22%) and ICU bed (24.3%) availabilities. Hospitalizations are still declining, dropping on eight of the last 10 days.
Region 8 (Kane, DuPage counties):
Hospitalizations have decreased nine of the last 10 days, while hospital bed availability (18.3%) is on the rise. ICU bed availability (21.9%) has steadied, as has the region’s positivity rate, which stands at 10.6%.
Region 9 (McHenry, Lake counties):
This region is seeing a mixed bag in terms of metrics, with hospital bed availability increasing (15.3%), while ICU bed availability has dropped to 22.6%. Hospitalizations have decreased each of the last three days. Positivity rates in the region have remained steady at 10.4%.
Region 10 (Suburban Cook County):
The region’s positivity rate has steadied at 10.2%, but the region is making gains in other areas. Hospital bed availability (17.5%) and ICU bed availability (22.8%) have gone up in recent days, and hospitalizations have dropped each of the last 10 days.
Region 11 (Chicago):
Metrics in Chicago have remained largely steady in recent days, with positivity rate (10.2%), hospital bed availability (16.3%) and ICU bed availability (23.3%) all largely staying the same in recent days. Hospitalizations have decreased each of the last 10 days, however.
