Region 9 On Track To Hit Tier 2 Restrictions Saturday

MCHENRY AND LAKE COUNTIES, IL — It's been 10 days since indoor service at bars and restaurants was shut down in McHenry and Lake counties, and coronavirus cases continue to rise. Many restaurants have publicly denounced the governor's order, continuing to serve indoors, including some that opened but then had to temporarily close after staff members caught the virus.

School districts across the area have shifted back to remote learning, while others have gone from remote to hybrid — even amid the rising case numbers and outbreaks in schools. And some mayors have announced they wouldn't enforce the state mandate to close down indoor dining.

• Region 9 COVID-19 Hot Spots: Workplace, Restaurants Top New List

"Mitigations are only effective if they are followed," said Gov. J.B. Pritzker during a Monday press conference. "Too many local officials across the state are ignoring their local public health departments and doing nothing in assisting their residents in following the most basic COVID-19 guidelines. Some elected officials are allowing this rise in positivity to balloon out of control while taking no action."

State health officials say a COVID-19 surge is imminent and people need to avoid social gatherings, wear masks and avoid areas where the virus is transmitted. On Monday, state officials ordered Tier 2 mitigations for Regions 5, 7 and 8. And Region 9 is on track to join those ranks as soon as this weekend or early next week.

• Regions 5, 7 And 8 To See Stricter Mitigations Starting Wednesday

The most recent health data shows Region 9 has hit a 12.5 percent positivity rate, which is an increase of 4.4 percentage points in the 15 days since McHenry and Lake counties tipped over 8 percent. Under the state's resurgence plan, Tier 1 mitigations, which include the end of indoor dining and drinking at bars and restaurants, are ordered after the test positivity rate exceeds 8 percent for three consecutive days.

From there, Tier 2 mitigations "may be applied" if a region's positivity rate remains above 8 percent after 14 days. The region could hit the 14-day mark on Nov. 14, local health officials said last week.

Tier 2 mitigations would include further limitations on in-person dining and social gatherings, a ban on indoor recreational activities, new restrictions at hospitals, and a return to curbside pickup from retail stores.

Last week, Hannah Goering, marketing and communications manager for the Lake County Health Department and Community Health Center, told Patch that Tier 2 looked like a "very strong possibility." Since then, COVID-19 cases have only continued to rise.

Hospitalizations

The rounded, rolling seven-day average of admissions to hospitals with "COVID-like illnesses," or CLI, shows 36 people are being newly hospitalized per day in McHenry and Lake counties.
Hospital beds are also starting to fill up.

Since Nov. 4, medical/surgical bed availability and intensive care unit bed capacity has dipped a bit, but not as notably as the 10 days prior to that. As of Monday, medical and surgical bed availability was at 31 percent compared to 34 percent on Nov. 4. Meanwhile, ICU capacity was at 46 percent on Nov. 4 and was at 42 percent on Monday.

Concerns over hospital capacity heighten for state health officials when the availability of medical and surgical beds, as well as beds in the region's ICUs, dips under 20 percent.

A complete list of mitigation measures include the following:

Bars and Restaurants

• Reduce party size from 10 to six individuals

Meetings, Social Events and Gatherings

• Maximum indoor/outdoor gathering size of 10 individuals
• Not applicable to sports, see sports guidance
• Not applicable to students participating in-person classroom learning
• This does not reduce the overall facility capacity dictated by general business guidance, such as office, retail, etc.
• Applicable to professional, cultural and social group gatherings

Organized Group Recreational Activities

• Limit to lesser of 25 guests or 25 percent of overall room capacity both indoors and outdoors
• Groups limited to 10 individuals or fewer
• Does not apply to fitness centers

These mitigations do not apply to schools.

MORE ON PATCH

• Coronavirus Positivity Rate Rises To 11.6% In Lake-McHenry Region
• IL COVID-19 Hot Spots: Schools, Restaurants Top New List
• Region 9 Shutdown: How Will Restaurants, Bars Survive?
• D70 Students To Return To Schools Next Week
• IL Nears Statewide Ban On Indoor Dining
• Libertyville Will Not Enforce Governor's Order: Mayor
• McHenry Co. Restaurants Join Fight To Stay Open