Restrictions on bars, indoor dining are eased in Kankakee, Will counties
State’s known case count pushes past 270,000
Weeks after the region that includes Will and Kankakee counties suffered a rollback in restrictions, bars can reopen and indoor dining can resume as the coronavirus positivity rate has come down, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Friday.
The governor made the announcement as the state’s known COVID-19 case tally pushed past 270,000.
Also Friday, DuPage County was removed from a list of counties at “warning level” for a possible resurgence of COVID-19. With the removal of DuPage, no Chicago-area counties are among the two dozen counties on the state’s latest list.
The region that includes Will and Kankakee counties logged three consecutive days this week under a 6.5% COVID-19 test positivity rate, allowing the stricter rules to be lifted as of 5 p.m. Friday, Pritzker said.
The region’s positivity rate was 5.6% as of Friday, Pritzker said.
The region was the second to see tougher rules imposed after it surpassed a state threshold of 8% positivity rate for three consecutive days. The seven-county Metro East region, the first to see a rollback in its reopening, remains under the stricter rules for bars, restaurants and gatherings.
The rollback meant those regions had to close bars and ban indoor dining at restaurants, while lowering the cap on gatherings to 25 people. In phase four of Pritzker’s reopening plan, which the state entered in late June, the gathering cap is 50 people, and bars and indoor dining are allowed to be open with capacity limits.
Pritzker sought to use the progress in the Will and Kankakee region’s positivity rate as support for the interventions his administration has put in place for areas of the state where COVID-19 appears to be surging.
“Let that be a testament, honestly, to the entire state and to the power of community that embraces doctor-recommended mitigations proven to reduce risk and to slow the spread, and let it also be a testament to community leaders who stand on the side of science, to collaboration between IDPH and local health departments, and a testament to neighbors doing right by neighbors,” Pritzker said at a news conference in Rock Island.
State public health officials on Friday announced 2,120 newly diagnosed coronavirus cases and 20 additional deaths, raising the totals to 270,327 known cases and 8,411 deaths throughout the course of the pandemic.
The seven-day rolling statewide positivity rate stood at 3.6% as of Friday. Nearly 62,000 tests were conducted during the previous 24 hours, state public health officials said Friday.
Pritzker on Friday also extended a host of coronavirus-related executive orders, including the current rules of his “Restore Illinois” reopening plan, for another 30 days, through Oct. 17. In a minor tweak, an exemption has been added for “electionrelated functions,” similar to one previously added for the “free exercise of religion.” The order notes that the Illinois Department of Public health has issued safety guidelines for the Nov. 3 election.
The weekly warning list released Friday by the Department of Public Health includes 24 counties, down from 30 a week ago. Counties are added to the list when they reach two or more bench marks indicating the virus that causes COVID-19 is spreading locally, such as more than 50 new cases per 100,000 residents or when the death toll increases by more than 20% for two straight weeks.
The counties at warning level are: Bond, Bureau, Cass, Clinton, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, DeWitt, Edwards, Effingham, Greene, Jasper, Jo Daviess, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Rock Island, St. Clair, Shelby, Washington, Wayne, Williamson, Wabash and Union.
The reasons for each county being on the list varies, but public health officials continue to warn of outbreaks connected to college parties and sports teams, large gatherings at bars and clubs, weddings and funerals, and schools, among other settings. Local officials in some areas are not enforcing mask requirements or other social distancing measures, according to state health officials.