Chicago-area restaurants and bars will have to wait a little longer to reopen for indoor service. But the wait could be shorter, under revised COVID-19 mitigation rules announced today by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
In a COVID briefing today, Pritzker also said he's calling up the Illinois National Guard to speed distribution of vaccines, with the entire state to move to Phase 1B, calling for the inoculation of those over age 65 and some essential workers, on Jan. 25. How fast that occurs will depend on whether the state starts getting more doses more quickly when President-elect Joe Biden takes office next week.
Under Pritzker's latest order, three of the state's regions—1 in northwest Illinois; 2, north-central Illinois; and 5, southern Illinois—will move immediately to Tier 2 remediation. That doesn’t allow indoor restaurant and bar service, but it does permit cultural institutions (such as museums) and some group fitness classes to open.
Pritzker said he believes all regions, including those in the Chicago area, will soon move to Tier 2.
The governor indicated he's spoken with Mayor Lori Lightfoot and told her that, while Chicago "doesn't quite meet the metrics" to move to Tier 2, the city is " very much moving in the right direction."
Moving to Tier 1 will require, among other things, that a region has a seven-day average test positivity rate of less than 8 percent for three days in a row. Chicago and suburban regions in the last week have been at or slightly below 10 percent.
One of the most significant changes when metrics are met and regions move to Tier 1: indoor dining and bar service can resume. That’s a change from the previous rule. Bars and restaurants still would be limited to 25 percent of capacity under that tier, until positivity rates and other metrics improve further. See the latest city and state COVID stats, including Chicago's vaccine status, in the charts below.
Casinos could reopen under Tier 2.
Indoor dining has been closed in the state since the end of October. Industry operators have been urging officials to allow some level of reopening. Many establishments have said they may have to go out of business if they can't get relief.
The governor said he’s easing off because the state did not see a huge spike in cases following the year-end holidays, with the latest data showing improvement.
Pritzker has been under strong pressure from the restaurant industry and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to ease up a bit, with many establishments saying they may have to go out of business if they can’t get quick relief.
News that the process has somewhat speeded up drew a cheer from Sam Toia, president and CEO of the Illinois Restaurant Association.
"Every little bit helps. We are grateful for the action the governor has taken," Toia said, adding, "But in some cases, it may not be enough,” referring to a limit of 25 people maximum in any one room.
Pritzker said select Walgreens locations will join the state's vaccine distribution effort on Monday to help inoculate health care workers covered under Phase 1A.
And starting Jan. 25, National Guard-led sites, select Walgreens locations and some other retail pharmacies, such as CVS and Jewel-Osco, will start inoculating residents 65 and older, as well as frontline essential workers covered under Phase 1B.
Residents will soon be able to schedule vaccine appointments at pharmacies using an online portal. Pritzker asks residents not to show up without an appointment.
Crain's reporter Stephanie Goldberg contributed.
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January 16, 2021 at 01:29AM
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COVID-19 Illinois restaurant, bar reopening rules changed, give operators some hope - Crain's Chicago Business
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