What’s Changing In Phase 5
- Upon entering Phase 5, fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.
- Under Phase 5, all sectors of the economy can resume at regular capacity. Phase 5 also marks the return of traditional conventions, festivals, and large events without capacity restrictions. Large gatherings of all sizes can resume across all industry settings, and Phase 5 removes requirements that businesses institute mandatory social distancing in seated venues as well as daily health screenings of employees and visitors.
What Are The Social Distancing Guidelines
According to guidance from the Gov. J.B. Pritzker, “Phase 5 removes requirements that businesses institute mandatory social distancing in seated venues.”
Still, according to state guidelines, “businesses and venues should continue to allow for social distancing to the extent possible, especially indoors.”
Important Chicago Reopening Notice
Chicago is currently in Phase 5.
In Phase 5, most mandatory COVID-19 regulations have been lifted, including capacity limits and social distancing requirements at most businesses. Effective August 20, 2021, masks are required in all indoor public settings, regardless of vaccination status.
Masks
Effective August 20, 2021, masks are required in all indoor public settings. Similar to previous mask mandates, masks can be removed at restaurants, bars and other eating/drinking establishments by patrons when they are actively eating/drinking while stationary. Masks can also be removed for certain activities that require their removal, such as beard shaves or facials. Additionally, masks can be removed by employees in settings that are not open to the public, if employees are static and maintaining at least six feet from all other individuals .
Operating Hours
Bars, restaurants and other establishments with a Tavern or Consumption on Premises-Incidental Activity license can resume normal hours of operation.
Public Gatherings Guidance
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Moon Phases For Chicago Illinois Usa In 2021
| Lunation | |
|---|---|
| 20:23 | 29d 10h 51m |
| * All times are local time for Chicago. Time is adjusted for DST when applicable. They take into account refraction. Dates are based on the Gregorian calendar. Current lunation cycle is highlighted yellow. Special events are highlighted blue. Hover over events for more details. |
When Will There Be A Vaccine
Arwady has said that she believes there will be a vaccine next year, which is much quicker than normal. To put it into perspective, the ebola vaccine took four years to develop, and that was one of the fastest ever. To help get a vaccine quicker to the general public, the FDA is allowing multiple vaccine trials to run at the same time, with some trials already seeing positive results.
View the Douchiest Bars in Chicago
Want more advice on what to avoid? View our list of the douchiest bars in the city.
Until we get there, Chicago citizens are encouraged to wear masks, wash their hands, and continue maintaining at least six-feet of distance from one another. Even once Chicago has entered into the final stage, there will be new safety guidelines and procedures in place. What precisely these measures will be is still to be determined.
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Could Illinois Regions Soon Slide Back Into Covid
Who remembers Phases 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5? And the surprise Bridge Phase that was announced just before Illinois achieved the holy grail of reopening? The state health department used a complicated formula to trigger re-openings and while the Illinois Department of Public Health says a similar formula will be used to revert back to restrictions, there are signs it wont be as straight-forward.
Illinois health officials are tracking key metrics surrounding new cases, Covid-related hospital admissions, patient counts, medical staffing, vaccination milestones and mortality.
But the official triggers for new restrictions are a bit different. Illinois could move back to the Bridge Phase or Phase 4, if over 10 days the trend of new cases increases and at least one of the following is true:
- Hospital ICU availability is below 20%
- There is a significant increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations or total COVID-19 patients in the hospital
Right now, hospitalizations statewide are increasing but Covid-related deaths are not.
But those arent the only criteria state health officials are monitoring.
New evidence concerning variants, vaccine effectiveness, or waning immunity could substantially and quickly increase COVID-19 hospitalizations and will be taken into consideration, according to the IDPH website.
However thats simply a recommendation, its up to local counties to set their own rules
Pm: Reopening Day: Illinois On Friday To Take Biggest Step Yet Back To Normalcy After More Than A Year Of Covid
On a Saturday in late March of last year, employees walked out of public libraries carrying plants and boxes of personal items, parents and young children took one last chance to run around in playgrounds, and the streets began emptying.
Chicagoans were preparing for the states stay-at-home order, which officially took effect at 5 p.m. on March 21, 2020.
More than a year later, Illinois and Chicago are scheduled to fully reopen on Friday, marking an emotional turning point in the pandemic for many who have endured loss and a lack of connection in public life.
Among Fridays milestones: The Cubs home gameagainst the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field will mark the first time a Chicago baseball game will be played in front of a full crowd since the beginning of the pandemic. The White Sox plan to open to full capacity on June 25.
Though the city and state have moved through different phases of curtailing and restoring activity since the initial stay-at-home order, Fridays reopening also will be the first time there are no capacity restrictions or social distancing mandates for businesses and personal gatherings.
I have gotten together with my family and I have to say, thats a wonderful feeling to be connected again to people, said Dr. Susan Bleasdale, an infectious disease physician at the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System. I think this is exciting as long as we are careful and cautious and continue to follow data.
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Am: Offices Are Reopening But Business Isnt Rebounding At Dry Cleaners: Its Kind Of A Dying Service
As Chicago looks to put the COVID-19 pandemic behind it, residents are quickly returning to the businesses they used to frequent. But for many, the citys dry cleaners are no longer part of the weekly routine.
The pandemic has diminished the use of professional and formal attire, leaving the dry cleaning business well below 2019 levels and causing cleaners to worry that COVID-19 has permanently altered the viability of their industry, which has struggled ever since non-iron shirts become popular. Its a decline that hits particularly hard in the Korean American business community, which owns the majority of the dry cleaners in the state.
Shin Kim, manager of Chicago Cleaners in the Noble Square neighborhood, said that while more customers are starting to drop in with clothing for special events suits, dresses, tuxedos the overall volume of clothing hes cleaning is way down thanks to a lack of day-to-day items like dress pants and dress shirts.
Before the pandemic, Kim said the average monthly income at Chicago Cleaners was between $8,000 and $10,000. Now its closer to $4,000.
Because of the pandemic, its kind of a dying service or business you could say, Kim said.
Alwadi Pushes More Vaccinations As Forch Warns Of The Dangers Of The New Delta Coronavirus
While federal officials have warned about the delta variant of the coronavirus, Chicago officials say other virus strains have caused quite a few cases of COVID in the region.
Dr. Allison Arwadi, Commissioner of the Chicago Public Health Service, said the first delta variant detected in India caused about 10 outbreaks of the virus in the city of Chicago.
Federal-level officials say they are aiming to vaccinate more Americans as soon as possible so that the Delta variant can no longer build a foothold in the United States.
In the UK, the Delta subspecies is rapidly emerging as the dominant subspecies, which replaces B.1.1.7 , said the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. One Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Tuesday. I cant forgive it in the United States.
For more information Delta Variant and Chicago Indicators.
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Chicago Reports The Lowest Number Of Covid Cases Since The Start Of The Pandemic: Arwady
According to health officials, Chicago achieved a major milestone in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday, reporting an average of less than 100 COVID-19 cases per day.
Chicago Public Health Service Secretary Alison Arwadi said on Facebook Live that the COVID index looks very good as the city prepares to move to Phase 5 of its reopening plan on Friday.
There are an average of less than 100 new cases per day in Chicago. Its really exciting. This is the lowest since the pandemic began in March, a 42% decrease per day compared to a week ago. Arwady said.
She called the decline in cases exponential decay after COVID data was steadily rising prior to the release of the vaccine.
More details Chicagos latest COVID data..
Chicago Announces New Phase Of Reopening Plan Including At Restaurants And Sports Venues
Fans watch as the Chicago Blackhawks take on the San Jose Sharks at the United Center on March 11, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois.
Our progress since COVID-19 first hit our city makes this smart, safe reopening possible. and fans, welcome back to the ! Lets go. #OpenChicago
Mayor Lori Lightfoot
The City of Chicago has released the following:
MAYOR LIGHTFOOT ANNOUNCES THE LAUNCH OF OPEN CHICAGO
Open Chicago is the latest initiative to safely reopen the city
CHICAGO Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot today announced the launch of Open Chicago, the latest initiative to safely and fully reopen the city. Open Chicagos initial programming will feature activated, re-imagined, and pop-up spaces for Chicago residents to enjoy. These spaces will either build on ongoing Chicago traditions, are expanded from programs that launched last year, or are new programs specifically crafted to get the City back into a new normal.
The initiatives mission centers on communicating Chicagos safe reopening strategy, which allows for the reopening of public amenities and private venues, activating public spaces with arts, culture, and recreation, expanding outdoor dining, and ensuring businesses can return to offices and in-person events.
Under the new Phase Four Regulations, most Chicago industries will have the ability to increase capacity effective immediately, including the following changes:
Open Parks
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Moon Phases For Chicago Junction Wisconsin Usa In 2021
| Lunation | |
|---|---|
| 20:23 | 29d 10h 51m |
| * All times are local time for Chicago Junction. Time is adjusted for DST when applicable. They take into account refraction. Dates are based on the Gregorian calendar. Current lunation cycle is highlighted yellow. Special events are highlighted blue. Hover over events for more details. |
Gov Pritzker Releases Phase 5 Guidelines As Illinois Prepares To Fully Reopen Next Week
Pritzker releases Phase 5 guidelines for Illinois, Cubs and Sox announce full capacity June 11
Gov. J.B. Pritzker has released guidelines for Phase 5 of the Restore Illinois plan, which goes into effect on June 11.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Gov. J.B. Pritzker has released guidelines for Phase 5 of the Restore Illinois plan, which goes into effect on June 11.
Due to steady decreases in new positive COVID-19 cases, over 67 percent of residents 18 and older receiving at least one vaccine dose and the state reaching a test positivity rate of less than two percent, Gov. Pritzker said Illinois can fully reopen.
Under Phase 5 guidance, businesses, large-scale events, conventions, amusement parks and seated-spectator venues, among others, will be able to operate at full capacity.
The state is also lifting outdoor mask requirements in schools.
MORE: Cubs to lift all capacity restrictions, physical distancing requirements beginning June 11
“After a tremendously challenging year, Illinois has now reached a defining moment in our efforts to defeat COVID-19,” said Gov. Pritzker. “Thanks to the hard work of residents across the state, Illinois will soon resume life as we knew it before returning to events, gatherings, and a fully reopened economy, with some of the safety guidelines weve adopted still in place.”
These new guidelines also comes just in time for the Cubs to face one of their biggest rivals and Wrigley will be able to fill every single seat.
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Requirements To Get To Phase Three:
A set of epidemiological factors has been established to guide the next transition from phase two to phase three , including:
COVID-19 Case Rate : o Declining rate of new cases, based on incidence and/or percent positivity Severe Outcome Rate : o Stable or declining rates of cases resulting in hospitalization, ICU admission, and/or death Hospital Capacity Citywide : o Hospital beds: < 1800 COVID patients o ICU beds: < 600 COVID patients o Ventilators: < 450 COVID patients Testing Capacity: o Test at least 5% of Chicago residents per month Testing Percent Positivity Rates : o Congregate: < 30% positive tests o Community: < 15% positive tests Syndromic Surveillance : o Declining emergency department visits for influenza-like illness and/or COVID-like illness Case Investigation & Contact Tracing: o Expanded system in place for congregate and community investigations and contact tracing
Lightfoot said the city needs to see a decline in cases before it can continue to move forward with easing restrictions.
“I worry a lot about, particularly our micro-businesses. If there’s not a solution soon, they’re never coming back,” she said.
But according to Lightfoot, though the city is seeing progress, “we are not where we need to be yet.”
“We can’t reopen the city yet,” she said.
Chicago health officials say the city still has not reached a peak and cases will likely continue to rise in the coming days.
Arwady said the city is still expected to peak in May, however.
Am: We Asked Readers What Theyre Planning To Do When The State Reopens Heres What They Told Us
After months of restrictions, the time has come. If new coronavirus deaths, cases and hospitalizations remain low and if vaccinations continue to increase, Illinois will fully reopen with no COVID-19 restrictions Friday.
Thats a lot of ifs, but Chicagoland residents are already making plans, counting on the state lifting remaining capacity limits, social distancing requirements and health screening mandates. Illinois will be fully open for the first time since Gov. J.B. Pritzkers stay-at-home order went into effect March 21, 2020.
The Chicago Tribune asked readers to share the plans theyre making for the states reopening.
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