Metro East goes backward on reopening
COVID-19 testing positivity rate of 8 percent prompts renewed restrictions
Ernie & Annie’s in Granite City is one of the many restaurants subject to renewed restrictions in the Metro East region. (One Illinois/Zachary Sigelko)
By Ted Cox
The Metro East region was subjected to renewed restrictions Sunday after its COVID-19 testing positivity rate rose back above 8 percent.
“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, I have made it clear that neither arbitrary dates on a calendar nor political pressure will dictate Illinois’s efforts to protect our people. If the data show we need to go backwards in our reopening, I won’t hesitate to tighten restrictions to protect our collective health,” Gov. Pritzker said in a statement accompanying a news release announcing the measures. “Region 4 of our statewide 11 reopening regions — the Metro East — has now surpassed an 8 percent seven-day rolling average positivity rate — a trend that I have made clear would trigger stricter mitigations when this plan was announced in July. Working with local officials in the Metro East region and across the border in St. Louis, we are implementing stricter mitigations that account for the unique factors in this region. Dr. Ezike and I are imploring local leaders and residents alike — if you haven’t been taking this seriously yet, now is the time to start.”
“As we warned when we began reopening Illinois, we are seeing an increase in cases, emergency-department visits, and other indicators that the virus is circulating more widely in the community,” said Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “Region 4 is the first of the 11 regions to reach resurgence criteria, but we hope it will be the last. By implementing additional mitigations, such as decreased indoor capacities and limiting hours, we hope to reduce the spread of the virus in the Metro East, and also help prevent an increase in cases, hospitalizations, and death in other regions of the state.”
Metro East is one of 11 regions designated across the state in the most recent phase of the plan to Restore Illinois. It comprises Bond, Clinton, Madison, Monroe, Randolph, St. Clair, and Washington counties just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. The renewed restrictions — imposed after three straight days of positivity rates at 8 percent or above — don’t completely close bars and restaurants, but do make their hours consistent with those recently imposed in St. Louis, where both are ordered closed at 11 p.m.
At a news conference Monday in East St. Louis, Pritzker said, “It seemed like the right thing to do,” to set the same time limits as in St. Louis, to discourage anyone from going back or forth to take advantage of looser regulations. “It is in the best interest of all St. Louis and Metro East residents, Illinoisans and Missourians alike, to take action now to bring down the positivity rate,” he added, “and we’re working together, across the border, to make sure that that happens.”
“It is in the best interest of all St. Louis and Metro East residents, Illinoisans and Missourians alike, to take action now to bring down the positivity rate, and we’re working together, across the border, to make sure that that happens.”
Gov. Pritzker (Illinois.gov)
Elizabeth Patton-Whiteside, chief executive officer of the East Side Health District, scolded local residents, saying, “If I sound like an angry black woman, I am. … I see and I feel what happens here.”
She called the four largely African American townships covered by the district “a Mecca of the comorbidity for the coronavirus” and “a breeding ground for the coronavirus,” due to the prevalence of conditions like diabetes and hypertension. “So people, you need to wake up. You need to step up. You need to do better.”
Calling for people to wear masks, observe social distancing, and obey the renewed restrictions, she added, “Your buddy that you’re hanging with — on the corner, in the park and church and parties and even at funerals — may be passing your casket next week.”
“If you haven’t been taking this seriously yet, now is the time to start,” Pritzker said.
In addition, tavern patrons will have to sit at tables six feet apart and with no more than six at a table, same as for restaurants. Barstools must be removed, with no congregating or ordering drinks at the bar. Reservations will be required at both bars and restaurants.
Larger meetings and gatherings will be restricted to 25 people or 25 percent of a room’s usual capacity, with banquet halls shut down and party buses banned. Pritzker earlier blamed party buses for rising infections.
There is no change in limits on outdoor sports.
The Department of Public Health will monitor COVID-19 data for two weeks “to determine if mitigations can be relaxed, if additional mitigations are required, or if current mitigation should remain in place,” according to a department notice on “Resurgence Mitigations for Region 4.” “If the positivity rate averages less than or equal to 6.5 percent over a 14-day period, the region will return to Phase 4 mitigations under the Restore Illinois plan. If the positivity rate averages between 6.5 percent and 8 percent, IDPH will continue to monitor the region to determine if additional mitigations are needed. If the positivity rate averages greater than or equal to 8 percent after 14 days, more stringent mitigations will be applied to further reduce spread of the virus, which can include the closure of indoor bars and dining.”
IDPH released a COVID-19 travel map Monday showing the risks of coronavirus in other states. Missouri had a COVID-19 infection rate of 23 per 100,000 residents, compared with the Illinois rate of 14 per 100,000.
On Sunday, the state confirmed 1,562 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the Illinois total to 206,081; 18 newly reported deaths attributed to the coronavirus took the statewide toll to 7,744. The state is averaging about 1,700 cases a day in August, 550 more than the daily average of 1,150 in July.
“The numbers are going up across the state,” Ezike said Monday, also announcing 1,773 newly confirmed cases, taking the total to 207,854. A dozen new deaths brought the toll to 7,756.
Through last week, Region 5, southern Illinois, including Carbondale, was the closest to hitting the 8 percent trigger level, with a testing positivity rate of 7.5 percent. Region 6, eastern Illinois, including Charleston and Danville, had the lowest positivity rate of any of the state’s 11 designated regions, at 2.4 percent.