SPRINGFIELD, Illinois — There will be tighter restrictions for restaurants, bars and social gatherings in the Metro East starting Wednesday due to increased COVID-19 positivity rates, Gov. J.B. Pritzker's office announced.
The following are restrictions for bars:
- No indoor service
- All outside bar service closes at 11:00 p.m. and may reopen no earlier than 6:00am the following day
- All bar patrons should be seated at tables outside
- No ordering, seating, or congregating at the bar (bar stools should be removed)
- Tables should be 6 feet apart
- No standing or congregating indoors or outdoors while waiting for a table or exiting
- No dancing or standing indoors
- Reservations required for each party
- No seating of multiple parties at one table
The following are restrictions for restaurants:
- No indoor dining or bar service
- All outdoor dining closes at 11:00 p.m. and may reopen no earlier than 6:00 a.m. the following day
- Outside dining tables should be 6 feet apart
- No standing or congregating indoors or outdoors while waiting for a table or exiting
- Reservations required for each party
- No seating of multiple parties at one table
The following are restrictions for meetings, social events and gatherings, which include weddings and funerals:
- Limit to lesser of 25 guests or 25% of overall room capacity
- No party buses
- Gaming and casinos close at 11:00 p.m., are limited to 25% capacity, and follow mitigations for bars and restaurants, if applicable
Pritzker's administration said the Metro East has seen increased positivity rates despite additional COVID-19 mitigation efforts. The current 7-day rolling average is 9.6%, which is down from 10.4% on Monday. The initial restrictions were put in place when the 7-day average positivity for the region surpassed 8%.
The Illinois Department of Public Health said it will continue to track the positivity rate in Region 4 to determine if mitigations can be relaxed, if additional mitigations are required, or if current mitigations should remain in place, according to a press release. And if the positivity rate averages less than or equal to 6.5% over a 14-day period, the region will return to Phase 4 mitigations under the Restore Illinois Plan. If the positivity rate remains the same or increases over the next 14 days, more stringent mitigations can be applied to further reduce spread of the virus.
