CHICAGO, Ill. (WTVO) — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker announced that all of Illinois will be moving back to Tier 3 mitigations on Friday to halt the spread of coronavirus.

In an effort to quell the spread of coronavirus, the governor’s new restrictions will limit indoor capacity at retail spaces to 25%, down from the 50% currently allowed. Grocery stores would still be able to have a 50% capacity.

The new order also closes casinos and shuts down gaming machines, close theaters, limit the number of clients at salons and barbershops, and return office workers to a work-from-home environment.

“We can save potentially thousands of lives in the next few months if we make changes right now to stop this virus in its tracks,” Pritzker said.

The Tier 3 resurgence mitigations will take effect statewide at 12:01 am on Friday, November 20, 2020.

The governor clarified, “This is not a stay-at-home order. Nobody will go door to door to check on you,” and asked that Illinois residents use personal responsibility.

“To stop this spread and preserve some semblance of the holidays, all of us need to do more than just wear our masks now – though masks are mandatory throughout the state. The simple fact is that COVID-19 is spreading so quickly and so widely, and our hospitals are beginning to experience real strain and at the current infection rate they will be overwhelmed. So whenever possible, we need you to stay home,” said Pritzker.

“All of us need to do more than just wear our masks,” he added.

For all regions, additional mitigation measures taking effect Friday, November 20^th include guidance for the following settings and industries:

• Retail
• Personal Car Services
• Health and Fitness Centers
• Hotels
• Manufacturing
• Bars and Restaurants
• Meetings and Social Events
• Offices
• Organized Group Recreational Activities
• Indoor Recreation, Theater, Cultural Institutions

Bars and restaurants
• All bars and restaurants close at 11pm and may reopen no earlier than 6am the
following day
• No indoor service
• All bar and restaurant 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 outdoors while waiting for a table or exiting
• No dancing or standing indoors
• No tables exceeding 6 people
• Reservations required for each party
• No seating of multiple parties at one table
• Indoor gaming terminals must suspend operations
• Includes private clubs and country clubs

Health and fitness centers
• Operate at no more than 25% capacity
• No indoor group classes
• Face coverings must be worn at all times, including while engaged in individual exercise regardless of person or machine spacing
• Reservations required
• Locker room areas should be closed

Hotels
• Hotel room occupancy should be limited to registered guests only, with the maximum allowance being the number of individuals permissible per existing fire code for each applicable guest room
• Fitness centers should be closed, or operated only on a reservation model with
capacity limited to 25% of the maximum occupancy for the room
• Grab and go food allowed
• Event and meeting space closed

Indoor recreation, theaters, cultural institutions (e.g. casinos, bowling, arcades, movie theaters, museums and zoos)
• Gaming and casinos close
• Indoor recreation centers, including theaters, performing arts centers and indoor museums and amusement centers, close
• Live streaming of performances encouraged with social distancing of performers
and minimum operational staff
• Outdoor activities allowed at 25% capacity or less
• Outdoor group activities limited to 10 persons or less, participants/guests must wear face coverings at all times
• Reservations required for each guest for outdoor activities

Manufacturing
• Additional COVID training for all employees required even if previous training occurred
• Operators should coordinate with IDPH to implement testing protocols and contact tracing, upon request, consistent with available testing supplies
• All employees must wear face coverings at all times unless eating or drinking. Exemptions only for safety purposes.
• Only manufacturing staff and key personnel allowed in facilities. Non-production employees must work remotely. Non-essential staff and visitors are not permitted. Exemptions only for critical equipment repairs, supply deliveries and safety reasons (“critical visitors”).
• All critical visitors must have an Employee Health and Safety (EHS)-approved risk-assessment done in advance, including travel history, tracking, and temperature check prior to entrance.
• Implement additional workstation realignment when feasible
• Stagger and space shifts, and designate shift entrances and exits (when possible) to minimize interactions of employees across unique shift groupings
• Station sanitation required at beginning and ending of shifts
• Operators must suspend COVID-related incentive pay and promote staying home when sick or showing symptoms
• Implement temporary leave policies to accommodate workers who are sick
• Develop and implement safety protocols for employee travel vans to promote spacing, require face coverings, temperature checks, air circulation, and vehicle sanitization

Meetings, social events and gatherings (including weddings, potlucks, etc.)
• Limit in home gatherings to household members
• Meeting rooms, banquet centers, private party rooms, private clubs and country clubs may not host gatherings
• No party buses
• Funerals are limited to 10 family members of the decedents, not including staff, see IDPH guidance

Office
• All employees who can work remotely should work remotely

Organized group recreational activities (sports, indoor sports and activity facilities, etc.)
• Pause all indoor group sporting and recreational activities including youth and adult recreational sports, individual training may remain (with facility reservation)
• Includes park districts and travel leagues
• Outdoor sports and recreation allowed
• Participant groups and practices outdoors limited to 10 persons or less with social distancing
• Face coverings required for all activities at all times
• Locker rooms should be closed

Personal care service
• Operate at lesser of 25 clients or 25% capacity
• Face coverings must be worn at all times by clients and service providers
• Suspend services where a face covering cannot be worn (e.g. facials, beard trims)
• Physical, occupational and massage therapy allowed as deemed necessary by a medical provider, but appointments must be spaced by a minimum of 15 minutes and facilities should take steps to sanitize and circulate clean air through service rooms before and after each service
• Virtual consultations recommended

Retail (including service counters)
• Operate at no more than 25% capacity, including general merchandise stores, “big box” stores that offer groceries and pharmacy, and convenience stores
• Grocery stores and pharmacies may operate at up to 50% capacity
• Encourage delivery or curbside pickup options wherever possible
• When in-store shopping is necessary, promote efficient trips and consistent circulation

As they have since the start of COVID-19, grocery stores across the state will remain open and available. Child care facilities may continue to operate subject to guidelines from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. School districts and officials should continue to follow the extensive guidance released by the Illinois State Board of Education in August to make decisions related to in-person and remote learning at the local level.

“Now, we are seeing a COVID storm that has set us on a course of a new wave of the virus that we all hoped wouldn’t come,” Pritzker said. “There was a prediction that fall resurgence would be worse than spring. That prediction was correct.”

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 12,601 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 97 additional deaths.

Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 597,849 cases, including 10,875 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. As of last night, 5,887 in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19.  Of those, 1,158 patients were in the ICU and 545 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators. 

IDPH director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said in hospitals across the state, 1 in every 4 patients has COVID-19.

“It’s more dire than what we saw in the spring,” she said.
 
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from November 10 – November 16, 2020 is 12.5%.  The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from November 10 – November 16, 2020 is 14.5%.

Region 1’s 7-day rolling positivity average: 20% (20.5 yesterday)

Boone: 31% (29.7% yesterday)
Carroll: 18.6% (20.5% yesterday)
DeKalb: 15.6% (16.8% yesterday)
Jo Daviess: 15.9% (15.8% yesterday)
Lee: 17.1% (17.1% yesterday) 
Ogle: 17.9% (18.5% yesterday)
Stephenson: 21.1 (22% yesterday)
Whiteside: 25.3% (25.7% yesterday)
Winnebago: 19.7% (19.9% yesterday)

Hospital bed availability up to 35% — threshold is 20% (34% yesterday)
ICU Bed Availability at 36% — threshold is 20% (38% yesterday)

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