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Get with the program, central Illinois

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* IDPH Region 3, which runs from Sangamon County west to the Mississippi River, now has a seven-day rolling positivity rate of 16.4 percent. Sangamon County’s rate is 16.2 percent, but its most recent one-day rate is 21.2 percent.

* Fortunately, some attitudes are starting to change in the county…

Just days into their two-week plan to allow bars and restaurants to continue indoor service despite Gov. JB Pritzker’s order to curb COVID-19’s rapid resurgence in the region, Sangamon County and Springfield officials are reversing course.

Beginning Friday, area bars and restaurants must stop serving indoors, or risk their liquor or food license if they stay open. That’s according to new executive orders signed Tuesday by Sangamon County Board Chair Andy Van Meter and Department of Public Health Director Gail O’Neill.

Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder said at a city council meeting he plans to sign a similar order on Thursday.

Region 3 – which includes Springfield and west-central Illinois – triggered the mitigations late last month after the region saw a COVID-19 positivity rate greater than 8% for three straight days. The rules, which include shuttering indoor dining and bar service, were set to take effect Nov. 1.

When local officials announced the plan to defy the governor’s orders last week, they also said if numbers were bad enough, they’d reconsider and implement all regulations aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19.

In consultation with medical advisors, they set the threshold at an average positivity rate above 12% for the county for three straight days, which would trigger closure of indoor service. The rolling average reached 14.4% Saturday for the county, according to the most recent data available from the Illinois Department of Public Health. It was 13.4% Friday, and 12.5% the day before that. The average rates lag three days behind.

Unfortunately, every day they delayed meant that getting those numbers down to a reasonable level became that much more difficult.

* The SJ-R is getting a little salty…

“We are getting very, very dangerously close to overwhelming our healthcare system, which was the point of all this to begin with — don’t overwhelm the healthcare system,” said Ward 6 Ald. Kristin DiCenso. “With flu season coming, we are about to be in very, very bad shape.”

With news of the county’s plans to enter full mitigations breaking just before the meeting started, several aldermen had not been briefed on the subject.

Langfelder, who was on a call with county officials where the mitigations were discussed earlier that afternoon, also appeared unfamiliar with the contents of the new restrictions.

He repeatedly told council members that all bar service would cease under the new order before being corrected and told that outdoor service could continue. During the meeting, he asked a reporter with The State Journal-Register to confirm when the mitigations would actually go into effect.

The answer is 12:01 a.m. Friday.

* The governor responded to the course change on Facebook yesterday…

I’m pleased to see local governments are starting to take action to stop the spread. I urge all local government leaders to put the health and safety of your community above all else.

* WICS…

The coronavirus pandemic and the upcoming winter months are taking a toll on the tourism industry in Illinois.

Add to it the veto session at the Capitol being canceled, which usually brings in money to the capital city.

Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau Director Scott Dahl said now, they are looking ahead.

“Literally thousands of people come in town for session. It is a large impact to the city,” Dahl said. “We are hoping for an early spring session and an extended session, as well, to make up for the spring and fall session loss in 2020.”

A long session will not happen if Springfield and the county don’t prove they’re taking this seriously. The capital city should be setting an example for the rest of the state. Until this week, it had been setting precisely the wrong example.

* Meanwhile in Chicago…

The city's test positivity is 14.1%, per @ChiPublicHealth. 7 days ago, it was 10.9%.

There are 1,920 confirmed cases of COVID-19 per day in Chicago, on average, up 36% in a week.

An average of 8 Chicagoans died every day this week from the virus, up from 5 last week.

— Heather Cherone (@HeatherCherone) November 12, 2020

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Nov 12, 20 @ 12:53 pm

Comments

Wouldn’t that be west to the Mississippi?

Comment by DuPage Saint Thursday, Nov 12, 20 @ 12:58 pm
Gail, keep up the good work. I know it’s frustrating dealing with politicians, especially politicians who refuse to take public health seriously. I keep thinking of you and my other public health friends. Stay safe and continue god’s work in Sangamon county.

Comment by Norseman Thursday, Nov 12, 20 @ 1:06 pm
What are the pros and cons of moving the capital city?

Comment by Precinct Captain Thursday, Nov 12, 20 @ 1:13 pm
===Wouldn’t that be west===

Yep. Fixed. Thanks!

Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Nov 12, 20 @ 1:14 pm
Don’t hold your breath on rural illinois doing the right thing.

Comment by JS Mill Thursday, Nov 12, 20 @ 1:23 pm
Ironically, during the wind storms and field fires we experienced here in central Illinois a few weeks ago, many of our local anti-maskers were preaching personal responsibility and to heed government warnings not to burn trash so as to not destroy their neighbor’s crop. However, when it comes to the pandemic, asking them to wear a mask is an afront to their personal liberties. None saw the irony. We are doomed.

Comment by Andy Thursday, Nov 12, 20 @ 1:25 pm
Saying Gail O’Neill is doing a great job is akin to calling Langfelder a great Mayor. Both have been pretty much absent throughout the COVID crisis. The real thanks goes to Brian McFadden and Andy Van Meter for being the only adults in the room.

Comment by FIREDup!! Thursday, Nov 12, 20 @ 1:29 pm
The problem is Mayor Langfelder has done nothing of substance to prepare the City to work remotely. He’s done nothing to keep his own house safe.

He now must make a Hobson’s choice of his own making: reduce operations or kill his own employees.

Comment by MG85 Thursday, Nov 12, 20 @ 1:48 pm
Scott Dahl should probably have a more impactful conversation with Chris Hembrough (Chamber of Commerce).

Comment by From DaZoo Thursday, Nov 12, 20 @ 1:56 pm
I won’t forget the Mayor’s actions come the next election day.

Comment by Cool Papa Bell Thursday, Nov 12, 20 @ 2:59 pm
Langfelder is a schmuck, nowhere near the leader that his father was. Unfortunately, Springfield is stuck with him until 2023.

Comment by Osborne Smith III Thursday, Nov 12, 20 @ 3:31 pm
JS Mill
===Don’t hold your breath on rural illinois doing the right thing.===

Seriously we do quite well without your dictating to us what we do wrong.

Comment by Just me Thursday, Nov 12, 20 @ 7:03 pm
so how is eating or drinking in a totally plastic enclosed outdoor area any different than a building with four walls? Both are totally enclosed.

Comment by Peanut Friday, Nov 13, 20 @ 7:54 am