ILLINOIS (WAND) - Governor Pritzker and Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike announced a new COVID-19 mitigation plan on Wednesday they say is focused on combating a resurgence of cases while maintaining the progress the state has made towards bending the curve over the last four months. 

The new plan redraws the state's health regions. There used to be 4 - there are now 11.

The state regions are now:

  1. NORTH: Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, Jo Daviess, Lee, Ogle, Stephenson, Whiteside, Winnebago
  2. NORTH-CENTRAL: Bureau, Fulton, Grundy, Henderson, Henry, Kendall, Knox, La Salle, Livingston, Marshall, McDonough, McLean, Mercer, Peoria, Putnam, Rock Island, Stark, Tazewell, Warren, Woodford
  3. WEST-CENTRAL: Adams, Brown, Calhoun, Cass, Christian, Greene, Hancock, Jersey, Logan, Macoupin, Mason, Mason, Menard, Montgomery, Morgan, Pike, Sangamon, Schuyler, Scott
  4. METRO EAST: Bond, Clinton, Madison, Monroe, Randolph, St. Clair, Washington
  5. SOUTHERN: Alexander, Edwards, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Marion, Massac, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Saline, Union, Wabash, Wayne, White, Williamson
  6. EAST-CENTRAL: Champaign, Clark, Clay, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, De Witt, Douglas, Edgar, Effingham, Fayette, Ford, Iroquois, Jasper, Lawrence, Macon, Moultrie, Piatt, Richland, Shelby, Vermillion
  7. SOUTH SUBURBAN: Kankakee, Will
  8. WEST SUBURBAN: DuPage, Kane
  9. NORTH SUBURBAN: Lake, McHenry
  10. SUBURBAN COOK: Suburban Cook
  11. CHICAGO: City of Chicago

"Going forward, we have the ability now to monitor and measure progress in 11 separate regions, based largely on our eleven hospital emergency medical services regions," Pritzker said Wednesday.

This allows state officials to implement any future COVID-19 restrictions more narrowly than has been done previously.

"Unlike when we first introduced the Restore Illinois Plan at the beginning of May, our growth in testing and tracing has given us a much more surgical ability to manage outbreaks and address problems locally," Pritzker said.

Under the plan, the following metrics will be followed to determine if steps need to be taken in a region during the spread of the virus: 

  • Sustained increase in 7-day rolling average (7 out of 10 days) in the positivity rate and one of the following severity indicators:
    • Sustained 7-day increase in hospital admissions for a COVID-19 like illness
    • Reduction in hospital capacity threatening surge capabilities (ICU capacity or medical/surgical beds < 20%)
  • OR three consecutive days averaging ≥ 8% positivity rate

The updated guidance from IDPH establishes three tiers of mitigations that can be implemented, should a region meet the resurgence metrics. Some mitigation strategies in higher risk settings, like indoor bars and restaurants, will be automatically applied in a region that meets resurgence criteria to prevent rapid spread of COVID-19. A larger list of mitigation strategies, relating to settings like retail, fitness, and salons and personal care will be available if testing and contact tracing data at the local level indicate those mitigations to be prudent. The state says the list of optional measures included in the updated guidance is not exhaustive. Other industries could require additional mitigation if indicated by the region’s data.

 

 

 

The state of Illinois is still under Phase 4 of the Reopen Illinois plan, to reach phase 5 the state says a vaccine or highly effective treatment must be implemented in the state.Â