Indoor dining can resume in Region 1 as state moves us to tier 1 COVID-19 mitigations

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WREX) — Restaurants can officially open their doors again for indoor dining in the Stateline. On Monday, the Illinois Department of Public Health officially moved Region 1 into tier 1 mitigations for COVID-19. So what does tier 1 mitigations mean? It means indoor dining can resume with limited […]

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WREX) — Restaurants can officially open their doors again for indoor dining in the Stateline.

On Monday, the Illinois Department of Public Health officially moved Region 1 into tier 1 mitigations for COVID-19.

So what does tier 1 mitigations mean? It means indoor dining can resume with limited capacity.

Here’s a look at the full changes included in tier 1 mitigations:

Bars and Restaurants •Indoor service limited to lesser of 25{066dbc63777e5ed549f406789d72fdeebd77a32711d57f7b38ff2b35c4ba2a42} or 25 people per room
•Establishment must serve food for indoor service
•Reservations required and limited to 2 hours
•No tables exceeding 4 people indoors
•Bars and restaurants close at 11 p.m. and may reopen no earlier than 6 a.m. the following day
Meetings, socialevents and gatherings(including weddings,funerals, potlucks, etc.) •Limit to lesser of 25 guests or 25{066dbc63777e5ed549f406789d72fdeebd77a32711d57f7b38ff2b35c4ba2a42} of overall room capacity both indoors and outdoors
•Applicable to professional, cultural and social group gatherings.
•Not applicable to students participating in-person classroom learning, or sports.
•This does not reduce the overall facility capacity dictated by general Phase 4 business guidance such as office, personal care, retail, etc.
Organized grouprecreational activities(fitness centers, sports,etc.) •Sports should follow the mitigation measures set forth in the All Sport Guidelines, which outlines appropriate levels of practice and competition based on individual sport risk
•Face coverings must be worn at all times in fitness centers, including while engaged in individual exercise regardless of person or machine spacing.

Hospital leaders and local health departments have communicated to IDPH that their primary capacity challenge is the need for additional staffing and stressed that state-facilitated staffing contracts will be critical in addressing this challenge.

With this surge staffing program, IDPH and hospital leaders feel confident that metrics can safely move away from utilizing medical/surgical bed limits to move across mitigation tiers, allowing more regions to advance. 

As of Monday, the region is at 7.1{066dbc63777e5ed549f406789d72fdeebd77a32711d57f7b38ff2b35c4ba2a42} for its seven-day rolling positivity rate, marking three straight days under 8{066dbc63777e5ed549f406789d72fdeebd77a32711d57f7b38ff2b35c4ba2a42}. That’s according to the Illinois Department of Public Health’s website.

The region currently has 26{066dbc63777e5ed549f406789d72fdeebd77a32711d57f7b38ff2b35c4ba2a42} of ICU beds available meeting the state’s requirement of 20{066dbc63777e5ed549f406789d72fdeebd77a32711d57f7b38ff2b35c4ba2a42} or more bed available.

Lastly, the region has seen a decrease in COVID-19 hospitalizations for 8 of the past 10 days, according to IDPH.

The next step for Region 1 would be to move to Phase 4.

In order to move to Phase 4, a region must meet the following metrics:

1) A test positivity rate less =6.5{066dbc63777e5ed549f406789d72fdeebd77a32711d57f7b38ff2b35c4ba2a42} for three consecutive days, as measured by the 7-day rolling average; AND
2) =20{066dbc63777e5ed549f406789d72fdeebd77a32711d57f7b38ff2b35c4ba2a42} available staffed ICU hospital beds for three consecutive days, on a 7-day rolling average; AND
3) No sustained increase in the number of people in the hospital with COVID-19 for seven out of 10 days, on a 7-day average.

IDPH also announced Regions 8, 9, 10, and 11 will move from the most restrictive Tier 3 to Tier 2. In addition, Region 6 also met the metrics to move to Tier 1, and Regions 3 and 5 have met the metrics to return to Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois Plan.

Coronavirus Resources

  • Click here for the latest CDC novel coronavirus resources and links.
  • Track the COVID-19 globally using this map tracker here.
  • Click here for the latest information from the Illinois Department of Public Health.
  • Need to get tested? Here’s a list of mobile testing sites provided by the state.
  • You can get the latest coverage from 13 WREX here.

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