Illinois, city of Chicago unveil guidelines for Friday’s phase four reopening

Both Illinois and the city of Chicago unveiled plans Monday on how they will enter phase four of their reopening plans this coming Friday.

At the state level, phase four will allow bars and restaurants to resume some indoor services, as well as the partial reopening of health and fitness centers, movie theaters, museums and zoos. Gatherings of up to 50 people will be allowed.

Revisions to the state plan will allow outdoor spectator sports to resume with up to 20 percent of seating capacity, with restricted concessions. Youth and recreational sports venues can operate at 50 percent of facility capacity, 20 percent seating capacity for spectators and group sizes up to 50 with multiple groups permitted during practice and competitive games, as long as space is available to social distance.

The plan comes as COVID-19 metrics continue to trend in a positive direction in all regions of the state, said Gov. JB Pritzker.

“Science and data are the overarching guardrails for how Illinois will keep moving forward,” he said. “By continuing to wear face coverings and following the guidance from health experts we can continue to safely reopen our economy and move forward together.”

Officials announced 26 more COVID-19 related deaths on Monday, bringing the state’s total to 6,671. An additional 462 cases were reported, bringing the state’s total to 137,224 in 101 counties.

An additional 18,219 COVID-10 tests were completed, bringing the total completed tests to 1,379,003. The positivity rate for tests over the past seven days is 2 percent.

Chicago’s phase four plan shares many similarities with the state, though the city won’t allow spectator sports or conventions.

Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said the city has “blown right past the benchmarks” regarding COVID-19 metrics.

The city is now averaging about 167 new daily COVID cases, which she said has moved it away from being a “high-risk” state for the virus.

“Us continuing to do the things that we know work are what will allow us to continue to take steps forward in phase four,” Arwady said.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Arwady said they have not set a time for when to reopen outdoor locations like beaches, pools and playgrounds.

“We’ll be looking ahead through the 4th of July, then at that point, doing some assessment,” Arwady said.