* Press release…
The National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) of Illinois issued the following statement regarding Phase 4 reopening guidelines released by Gov. JB Pritzker’s office, which allows for movie theatres to reopen beginning June 26 with a maximum capacity of 50 people:
“While theatres across Illinois are excited to welcome customers back to the movies, the strict capacity limits announced by the governor’s office will make it difficult for many theatres to reopen. For some, it will simply not be feasible to rehire workers, purchase supplies and cover overhead costs if only 50 customers will be allowed in each auditorium. Many theatre auditoriums are quite large and can safely accommodate more viewers while maintaining proper physical distancing and sanitation measurers,” said Chris Johnson, president of the National Association of Theatre Owners of Illinois and CEO of Classic Cinemas. “We are disappointed the governor’s office declined to raise capacity limits after indicating a willingness to do so during recent conversations but remain hopeful that changes can be made sooner rather than later. We are eager to salvage what’s left of the summer blockbuster season and reclaim our role as a safe space to escape from life’s struggles.”
NATO of Illinois has proposed setting attendance limits at 50 percent of capacity – the same limits set for retail establishments and personal care businesses. Additional safety measures include:
• Requiring all employees to undergo training before returning to work on enhanced cleaning procedures, personal health and wellness, use of face masks and gloves, and maintaining social distancing.
• Taking employee temperatures before reporting to work for each shift.
• Mandating that cloth masks be worn at all times and disposable gloves be worn during customer interactions.
• Maintaining a minimum of six-foot distance between viewing parties, using empty seats and rows as necessary.
• Placing six-foot spacing markings in areas where guests may have to queue and assigning staff to ensure social distancing is respected.
• Encouraging customers to purchase tickets online to decrease contact opportunities.
I asked the group’s spokesperson Monique Garcia what the theaters were doing about the viral load issue. Dozens, or even hundreds of people sitting in the same room for a couple of hours could potentially shed a lot of virus into the air, after all…
“There are some who think we should just do nothing, have no restrictions, no capacity limits. But when you think of a gathering size of 100 and having a 30 percent chance of somebody in that 100 having a COVID virus — when you go up to 250 and that probability goes up to 60 percent — this is why we are being cautious and prudent.”
* Garcia’s response…
Among the safety precautions theatres have in place to limit risks include purchasing tickets online, staggered showtimes, maintaining a minimum six-foot distance between viewing parties, enhanced cleaning procedures including sanitation of seats between showings, and encouraging the use of face coverings even when seated in an auditorium.
Because we know that air flow is important in limiting risk, many theaters are placing special focus on improving air quality. This includes adjusting HVAC systems to increase the amount of fresh air being circulated and to remove stale air more quickly. New filters will also be put in place, including in vacuums and other devices.
Thoughts?
*** UPDATE *** The governor was asked today about the theater owners’ expectation that they’d be able to sell tickets for half of their available capacity…
I want to be clear to anybody that had expectations of something larger that there is the opportunity for us to do that at any moment, you know, going forward as we look and see. Remember when we change guidelines, when we move from one phase to another, what we’re looking to do is to measure how are we doing in hospitalizations, how are we doing in positivity rates. If we start to see things moving up, forget spiking, if we see things moving upward we want to watch them closely. And it’s over time that you see well if things are relatively stable, or even decreasing as we saw, interestingly during phase three even though we opened up quite a lot in phase three, the answer is, you can make adjustments along the way and we certainly will.
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* Press release…
* Rep. Darren Bailey’s remarks…
I’m a farmer about four hours south of here and a first term representative. And as a farmer, when things don’t work right you have to take a look at everything, try to determine what the problem is. And sometimes you’ve got to listen to the advice and and take other people’s ideas into consideration. And Dr. Wilson about two weeks ago, he called me up and he drove four hours south to Lewisville Illinois and sat with several area representatives to talk and share his ideas to this problem, this crisis that we’re experiencing. I don’t know the answer. I don’t know that I completely agree with some of the solutions and ideas that I’ve heard.
But one thing I do know, the one thing that I’ve discovered with government is that people don’t listen very well. A lot of people want to strive with their ideas, a lot of people want to push their agendas. So we are here today to listen, to simply to listen to an idea, and consider and certainly pray for an outcome. I’m so honored that we can be here with the church today, it’s the church that’s going to make the difference in this state and in this country and I’m so honored, of all places, to be here.
Listening has never been Bailey’s strong suit, of course.
* By the way, I asked Dr. Wilson’s spokesperson for comment on this Bailey statement from the other day and never heard back…
Rep. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) is questioning the Black Lives Matter movement based on that fact that a disproportional rate of pregnancies for black women end in abortion.
“If black lives matter, why are Illinois taxpayers funding the killing of unborn black babies?” asked Bailey, the first term 109th District representative and recent winner of a personal lawsuit against Gov J.B. Pritzker.
*** UPDATE *** I didn’t even think to check, but a commenter pointed out that Wilson contributed $3,000 each to Reps. Darren Bailey and Blaine Wilhour and House candidate Adam Niemerg (who’s running in Bailey’s district) this month.
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* Saturday…
They’ve since updated the story to report that the positivity rate was 12.27 percent. Same dif.
* And it’s not like Illinois is an impenetrable island, either…
* Arizona…
As of Saturday, 83% of current inpatient beds and 85% of ICU beds were in use for COVID-19 and other patients.
We all need to learn from each other. Come Friday, when Illinois enters Phase 4, our positivity rate will almost undoubtedly increase. So, people need to be careful and use some common sense. Texas is also experiencing an increase in its positivity rate, but its hospitals appear not to be in any danger of being overrun at the moment.
*** UPDATE *** Excerpt from a new Gov. Pritzker press release
Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois plan creates safety guidelines for the following permitted activities and businesses to resume, with capacity rules in place:
• Meetings and events: Venues and meeting spaces can resume with the lesser of up to 50 people OR 50% of overall room capacity. Multiple groups are permitted given facilities have space to appropriately social distance and can limit interaction between groups. This includes activities such as conferences and weddings.
• Indoor and Outdoor recreation: Revised guidelines to allow select indoor recreation facilities (e.g., bowling alleys, skating rinks), as well as clubhouses to reopen. Indoor recreation to operate at lesser of 50 customers OR 50% of facility capacity with outdoor recreation allowing group sizes of up to 50, and permitting multiple groups given facilities have space to appropriately social distance and can limit interaction between groups; concessions permitted with restrictions.
• Indoor Dining: Indoor dining can reopen with groups of 10 or less, with tables spaced 6-feet apart in seated areas and with standing areas at no more than 25% of capacity.
• Museums: Can reopen with no more than 25% occupancy, and with interactive exhibits and rides closed; guided tours should be limited to 50 people or fewer per group; museums should have a plan to limit congregation via advance ticket sales and timed ticketing; concessions permitted with restrictions.
• Zoos: Can reopen with no more than 25% occupancy, and with interactive exhibits, indoor exhibits, and rides closed; guided tours should be limited to 50 people or fewer per group; zoos should have a plan to limit congregation via advance ticket sales and timed ticketing; concessions permitted with restrictions.
• Cinema and Theatre: Indoor seated theaters, cinemas, and performing arts centers to allow admission of the lesser of up to 50 guests OR 50% of overall theater or performance space capacity (applies to each screening room); outdoor capacity limited to 20% of overall theater or performance space capacity; concessions permitted with restrictions.
• Outdoor seated spectator events: Outdoor spectator sports can resume with no more than 20% of seating capacity; concessions permitted with restrictions.
• Film production: Allow no more than 50% of sound stage or filming location capacity; crowd scenes should be limited to 50 people or fewer.
Industries with revised guidelines in Phase 4:
• Youth and Recreational Sports: Revised guidelines allow competitive gameplay and tournaments; youth and recreational sports venues can operate at 50% of facility capacity, 20% seating capacity for spectators, and group sizes up to 50 with multiple groups permitted during practice and competitive games given venues have space to appropriately social distance and can limit interaction between groups; concessions permitted with restrictions.
• Health and fitness centers: Revised guidelines allow gyms to open at 50% capacity and allow group fitness classes of up to 50 people with new safety guidelines for indoors, with multiple groups permitted given facilities have space to appropriately social distance and can limit interaction between groups.
• Day camps: Water-based activities permitted in accordance with IDPH guidelines; no more than 50% of facility capacity with group size of no more than 15 participants in a group, unless participants changing weekly.
Additionally, retail, service counters, offices, personal care (including salons, barber, nail salons), manufacturing and other industries allowed to reopen in Phase 3 will continue to operate at a reduced capacity.
To help businesses prepare to reopen and remain in compliance with new guidelines over the next two weeks, DCEO has released a new set of downloadable materials. Business toolkits are complete with signage, training checklists and other resources to help business owners and workers implement safety procedures and adhere to the latest capacity restrictions. Materials for businesses and operators pertaining to Phases 3 and 4 of the Restore Plan, can be found atIllinois.gov/businessguidelines.
During Phase 4, common public health standards remain in effect – including the use of face coverings and social distancing. Industry-specific guidelines may vary but are designed to help employers, workers and residents feel safe in transitioning to the next phase of reopening the state. All industries should continue to conduct regular cleanings, employee health screenings upon entry and mid-shift, and allow employees who can continue working from home to do so.
The state’s move to Phase 4 of the plan is expected to bring approximately 400,000 additional Illinoisans back to the workplace across all industries. While Phase 4 marks the return of 7 percent of the state’s workforce, it accounts for about $30 billion in annual GDP returned to operations and represents continuous progress towards fully reopening the state’s economy.
* Related…
* Racing returning to Arlington - The Illinois Racing Board clears the way for racing and betting, but no spectators, next month.
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