*** UPDATED x2 *** “Go read the whole thing”
Friday, Jan 15, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Hannah Meisel at WUIS takes a look at what’s coming up and what we’ve been through on IDPH mitigations. It’s a solid read, so have a look…
Governor JB Pritzker on Friday will unfreeze all of Illinois’ 11 regions from the so-called Tier III Coronavirus mitigations he implemented statewide in November as the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic raged.
But that doesn’t mean the automatic return of indoor dining in Illinois. First, a region would have to qualify to exit Tier III mitigations, followed by moving backward through Tier II and Tier I mitigations. Only then would a region enter back into Phase 4 of Pritzker’s Restore Illinois economic reopening plan, where indoor dining is allowed.
Pritzker’s tiered mitigation program includes restrictions on industries beyond restaurants and bars, but those businesses have been both the most vocal about restrictions, and their closure for indoor service has been the most readily apparent change for most Illinoisans, making it emblematic of the mitigations.
After Pritzker revamped his Restore Illinois plans in July — including splitting the state into 11 regions instead of four, and implementing a tiered mitigation strategy to deal with a likely resurgence of COVID-19 in the fall — two regions saw a shutdown of indoor dining in August. Region 4 (Metro East) and Region 7 (Kankakee and Will counties) triggered Tier I mitigations when their positivity rates (based on a seven-day rolling average) reached 8% or above for three days in a row.
As the headline says, go read the whole thing. I’ve already bookmarked it for future reference.
*** UPDATE 1 *** The governor’s PowerPoint presentation describing the days ahead is here.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Important news…
- Smalls - Friday, Jan 15, 21 @ 11:04 am:
Great info Hannah. Will be interesting to see what changes are made when they are announced by the Governor today, and if any indoor dining is allowed.
- Cool Papa Bell - Friday, Jan 15, 21 @ 11:04 am:
I wonder if IDPH and the Gov will begin to allow for a metric to account for % of population that has been vaccinated. I Springfield the Health Department is giving out 300 vaccines a day (as of now). Hospitals are also starting to give the jab to patients too. In a few weeks if your “protecting” say 750 people a day from serious illness and death in a region don’t you have to account for that?
I’d like to see an estimation of an area’s so called herd immunity be used to help reopen the economy.
- DuPage Saint - Friday, Jan 15, 21 @ 11:23 am:
I see IMAX movie theaters are opening up in Kane County according to Daily Herald. Even though they don’t qualify
- Bruce( no not him) - Friday, Jan 15, 21 @ 11:26 am:
In my little county, there is more indoor dining that carry out only already. Seems to be the norm in the surrounding counties as well.
- Just Me 2 - Friday, Jan 15, 21 @ 12:05 pm:
Can we just stop and take a minute to acknowledge how much better Illinois is doing than other states for fighting the virus. Our numbers are better than any of our neighboring states. I’m not a J.B. fan but this reality is under-appreciated.
- Jibba - Friday, Jan 15, 21 @ 12:22 pm:
===don’t you have to account for that===
When vaccinations are sufficiently widespread, they will affect the positive test numbers, ICU beds, and other measures that are currently being used. No need for another metric.
- Thomas Paine - Friday, Jan 15, 21 @ 12:57 pm:
=== acknowledge how much better Illinois is doing than other states for fighting the virus. ===
New cases per 100K people over past 7 days:
IL - 50
IA - 33
MO - 46
WI - 51
MN - 32
ND - 23
SD - 39
IN - 69
OH - 66
KY - 83
Where should I send JB his medal for finishing 6th place out of 10 in the Midwest?
20,000 deaths is nothing to brag about.
All data from The COVID Tracking Project at The Atlantic.
- OneMan - Friday, Jan 15, 21 @ 1:07 pm:
Living where 3 zones meet (the Kane, Kendall, Will,DuPage) borders it is going to be interesting to see what opens when.
Looks like using the most recent data I would be going to Oswego to dine indoors (have no burning desire to do so).
- KJC74 - Friday, Jan 15, 21 @ 2:02 pm:
Not sure if someone can point me in the right direction but if the Med/Surg Bed avaliability needs to be greater than 20% in a region . . . . how are we ever going to get to that point in certain regions if elective procedures continue unchecked. Remember, facility’s are in the business to make $ and an unfilled bed is not making money. I may have missed something but every region seems to be trending in the right direction sans that med/surg metric.
- Ben Tre - Friday, Jan 15, 21 @ 3:24 pm:
The Gov’s press release is virtually unreadable. Tiers, Phases, Levels, and Districts each designated with numbers. So District 10 might be at Tier 2, hoping to enter Phase 3, so Level 3 sports are allowed?? No wonder the public gets confused.