State cracks down on Will and Kankakee counties, bans indoor dining
State officials imposed restrictions such as no indoor service at bars and restaurants in Will and Kankakee counties on Monday after the region hit a positivity rate of 8% for COVID-19 for three days.
The changes go into effect Wednesday and also include closing eateries and bars by 11 p.m. and reducing the size of public gatherings, meetings and events to 25 patrons or 25% of room capacity, whichever is less. Elsewhere, the maximum gathering is 50 people.
In July, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced that restrictions to reduce COVID-19 spread would be enacted in regions that hit health metrics indicating a virus surge.
The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 1,612 new cases of COVID-19 and eight deaths from the respiratory disease Monday.
Illinois' total caseload is 221,790, and deaths statewide from the disease stand at 7,888. The positivity rate is 4.2% using a seven-day average. There were 36,155 tests reported in the last 24 hours, and the daily positivity rate statewide is 4.4%.
The state is divided into 11 regions to monitor COVID-19 conditions and predict whether a surge is occurring.
The new rules for Will and Kankakee will last for two weeks, and additional actions will be taken if metrics don't improve, the state health department said.
Other restrictions in the two counties include a ban on party buses, and casinos must close at 11 p.m. Bars and restaurants must require reservations, and multiple parties at tables are prohibited.
Over 700 more Illinoisans a day are contracting COVID-19 compared to a month ago, state data showed.
Since Aug. 1, the average spike in daily cases is 1,790 compared to the July 1-24 average of 1,053. Cases and positivity rates have crept up since the state loosened stay-at-home restrictions significantly on June 26.
Illinois hospital patients with the virus totaled 1,529 as of Sunday night. The Aug. 1-23 daily average was 1,514 patients, and it was 1,424 from July 1 to July 23.
Fifteen patients with COVID-19 are at Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield, a definite improvement over more than 100 in April, infectious disease specialist Daniel Boyle said.
In the spring, many patients were elderly. Now, a majority are in their 40s to 60s with less severe illness, he said.
Most "seem to be turning around a lot faster. There are not that many complications," Boyle said.
Numerous patients said they contracted the virus through family transmissions and some fell sick traveling outside Illinois for social events like weddings or birthdays, he noted. Some patients also referenced not wearing masks or being next to someone without a mask as factors, Boyle said.
Statewide, the age bracket with the highest percentage of Illinoisans infected with COVID-19 continues to be people in their 20s, reaching 19.3% of all cases Monday compared to 18.4% on Aug. 5.