CHICAGO (WAND) - Governor Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health today announced they will implement COVID-19 resurgence mitigations to Region 2, meaning all 11 Illinois regions will soon be under tighter restrictions.

Region 2, known as the North Central region, includes Rock Island, Henry, Bureau, Putnam, Kendall, Grundy, Mercer, Knox, Henderson, Warren, McDonough, Fulton, Stark, Marshall, Peoria, Tazwell, McLean, Woodford, Livingston, and Lasalle counties.

The region has seen three straight days of a 7-day rolling positivity rate above 8 percent.

The new mitigations will take place Wednesday at 12:01 a.m. 

“The mitigation measures soon to be implemented across the entire state of Illinois have been established to protect your health and the health of those around you,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike.  “These mitigation measures are not meant as a punishment, but as a way to help all of us co-exist with COVID-19 more safely.”

 Mitigation measures taking effect November 4 in Region 2 include: 

 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 

The positivity rate in Region 2 has fluctuated in recent months, with the region currently seeing an 9.3% positivity rate as of today. While the rate was 7.7% in early September, it dropped to 5% by early October and increased again to 7.2% in late October. Region 2 has also experienced a slight uptick in hospitalizations in October after leveling off the two months prior.

In the coming days, IDPH will continue to track the positivity rate in Region 2 to determine if mitigations can be relaxed, if additional mitigations are required, or if current mitigations should remain in place. If the positivity rate averages less than or equal to 6.5% for three consecutive days, then the regions will return to Phase 4 mitigations under the Restore Illinois Plan. If the positivity rate averages between 6.5% and 8%, the new mitigations will remain in place and unchanged. If the positivity rate averages greater than or equal to 8% after 14 days, more stringent mitigations may be applied to further reduce spread of the virus.