Governor Pritzker at Murphysboro news conference announcing stricter mitigation restrictions on the Southern Illinois Region as the positivity rate for COVID-19 increases.
Governor JB Pritzker has announced that additional mitigations are being placed on the Southern Illinois Region that includes Marion, Jefferson, and Wayne Counties as a result of rising COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.
The added mitigations include no indoor seating at restaurants and bars and no indoor gatherings of more groups of 25 people. That is down from the gatherings of up to 50. The changes will take effect this Thursday.
For the second day in a row, the positivity rate for the Southern Illinois Region is at 9.1-percent and over 8-percent for the third day in a row which triggered the added mitigations. While Marion County will be under the new mitigations, the county’s rolling seven-day positivity rate has actually further declined on Monday from 6.4-percent on Sunday to just 5.3-percent. Jefferson County’s rate fell from 10.1-percent on Sunday to 9.2-percent on Monday. Wayne County’s rate has declined from 14-percent on Sunday to 13.5-percent on Monday.
The Governor made the announcement in a news conference Monday afternoon in Murphysboro. Pritzker and Dr. Ngozi Ezike continued to push the wearing of masks, social distancing whenever possible and stopping large gatherings as key ways to bring down the infection rate. Health officials are also pushing for everyone to get a flu shot.
The State of Illinois also saw its positivity rate increase to 5.4-percent on Monday. There were 3,113 new confirmed cases and 22 additional deaths. The deaths included the death of a male in his 70s and female in her 80s in Fayette County and a male in his 90s in Wayne County.
Here is the full list of new mitigations in effect for the Southern Illinois Region beginning Thursday:
Bars
- No indoor service
- All outside bar service closes at 11:00 p.m.
- All bar patrons should be seated at tables outside
- No ordering, seating, or congregating at 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
Restaurants
- No indoor dining or bar service
- All outdoor dining closes at 11:00 p.m.
- 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
Meetings, Social Events, Gatherings
- Limit to lesser of 25 guests or 25 percent of overall room capacity
- No party buses
- Gaming and Casinos close at 11:00 p.m., are limited to 25 percent capacity, and follow mitigations for bars and restaurants, if applicable
These mitigations do not currently apply to schools.
