![]() Speaking at a press conference Tuesday, Dr. With indoor bar and restaurant service set to be suspended in at least four healthcare regions across Illinois, health officials are defending their decisions to impact those businesses, calling eateries and taverns “significant spreading locations” of the coronavirus. ![]() It’s because all studies done about bars and restaurants show they’re significant spreading locations, and we’re trying to stop that as best we can so that those places can reopen indoor service.” Illinois Health Officials Identify 3 Primary Locations Where COVID-19 Spreads Most Easily ![]() “We didn’t pick it because it sounds good or because we want to do it. “It’s not about punishing anybody,” he said. Those restrictions, which mainly target bars and restaurants, were chosen very carefully, Pritzker says, and are meant to put a stop to spiraling positivity rates and case numbers. New restrictions will go into place Thursday in Region 5, and will go into effect Friday in Kane, DuPage, Will and Kankakee counties. The Pritzker administration has ordered a halt to indoor dining and bar service in healthcare regions in northwestern and southern Illinois, as well as four suburban counties, as a result of elevated positivity rates in those areas. Pritzker’s administration is facing some criticism over its decision to re-impose coronavirus mitigation strategies on bars and restaurants in four healthcare regions, but the governor says that the decisions are meant to be temporary and are based on science and contact tracing. "It has worked as regions have gone into it and they've come out of it." ‘Not About Punishing Anybody:' Officials Defend COVID-19 Restrictions in Suburban Counties "We have resurgence plan in place," he said. Pritzker said the state plans to continue with its current strategy of implementing restrictions in specific locations seeing increased positivity rates. "That's not something we're considering right now," Pritzker said when asked about the potential for another order during a press briefing Monday. Pritzker, who noted the state's previous success in targeted mitigations. "What we are watching are hospitalizations, and the seriousness of illness, as well as people going into hospitals and overall hospital capacity," he said.ĭespite those dwindling hospital beds, ABC7 has not not heard of any medical centers in the Chicago area having to take measures, including canceling elective procedures.Fake charities, job postings and more: Here are the BBB's '12 Scams of Christmas' Local health officials expect the omicron variant to inevitably show up in the state, but Governor JB Pritzker said Thursday there are currently no plans to impose any statewide restrictions. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported testing 148,257 new specimens for a total of 40,063,543since the pandemic began. Masking, distancing, testing, and avoiding crowds can help reduce spread and offer protection against COVID-19, including Omicron." The vaccines remain effective against hospitalization and death due to Delta and we urge everyone 5 years and older to be vaccinated and everyone 18 years and older to get a booster when it's time. While we continue to watch for Omicron and sequence specimens for the variant, 99% of cases in Illinois are Delta. ![]() IDPH released a statement Friday, saying, "Illinois' 7-day rolling average for both cases and deaths are increasing, and over the past month, the daily number of people in the hospital with COVID-19 has risen from about 1,300 people to more than 2,400. In both Will and Kankakee counties, the vaccination rate is below the state average. That includes social distancing, masks, vaccination and getting boosters. "Until we have more data, we just ask people to engage in behavior we know will mitigate the spread of the virus," Bedore said. Lake and McHenry counties are below the 20% warning level for ICU beds, and the number of available beds is even lower in Kane and DuPage counties, and the city of Chicago.Ī number of state health officials attribute the increase at this time partly to Thanksgiving gatherings, and are concerned about the likely appearance of the omicron variant any day. Nine are in the ICU and eight of those are on ventilators.Īcross the region ICU beds are scarce only eight total are available in Will and Kankakee counties, well below 10% of the ICU beds available. Silver Cross Hospital is treating 52 COVID patients right now, the most since last winter. The number of hospitalized COVID patients in Illinois has risen 85% in the past month.
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