New coronavirus restrictions take effect Wednesday in one of Illinois' 11 healthcare regions that includes south suburban Kankakee and Will counties, which continue to see increases in their testing positivity rates.
Under the new rules, indoor service at both bars and restaurants will be suspended until further notice, according to Gov. J.B. Pritzker. The full list of restrictions is as follows, per the governor's office:
Bars
- No indoor service
- All outside bar service closes at 11 p.m.
- All bar patrons should be seated at tables outside
- No ordering, seating, or congregating at bar (bar stools should be removed)
- Tables should be 6 feet apart
- No standing or congregating indoors or outdoors while waiting for a table or exiting
- No dancing or standing indoors
- Reservations required for each party
- No seating of multiple parties at one table
Restaurants
- No indoor dining or bar service
- All outdoor dining closes at 11 p.m.
- Outside dining tables should be 6 feet apart
- No standing or congregating indoors or outdoors while waiting for a table or exiting
- Reservations required for each party
- No seating of multiple parties at one table
Meetings, Social Events, Gatherings
- Limit to lesser of 25 guests or 25% of overall room capacity
- No party buses
- Gaming and casinos close at 11 p.m., are limited to 25 percent capacity, and follow mitigations for bars and restaurants, if applicable
Region 7, the area in question, reached the level requiring these new COVID-19 mitigation efforts after the region saw its rolling positivity rate meet or exceed the 8% threshold for three consecutive days.
Local
According to data provided by the Illinois Department of Health, the two counties, which comprise Region 7 in the state’s coronavirus mitigation strategy, saw their combined positivity rate on coronavirus testing go up from 6.7% on Aug. 12 to 8.3% on Monday, with eight consecutive days of increases in that number.
Under the IDPH’s “Restore Illinois” plan, any region that has a rolling positivity rate of 8% or higher for three consecutive days would then have coronavirus mitigation measures enacted, and Region 7 is now in that category after remaining at or above 8% since Saturday.
The measures are expected to remain in place for 14 days, and if the positivity rates don't decrease to below 8% during that time, the restrictions could be left in place, or perhaps even expanded.
Those measures have already been implemented in Region 4, which includes counties adjacent to St. Louis in southwestern Illinois.
