Gov. J.B. Pritzker put forth a plan Wednesday to combat a resurgence of COVID-19 in the state.
Pritzker says in a statement that “Opening up our economy does not have to come with a spike in cases,” but adds, “that requires vigilance on the part of all of us.”
Mitigations standards will be applied on a regional basis based on the 11 Emergency Medical Services (EMS) regions that have traditionally guided IDPH in its statewide public health work.
Many municipal leaders had called for these regions to be used in the Restore Illinois plan, which was made of 4 regions.
Knox County is included in the North-Central Region which includes 19 other counties from as far southwest as McDonough and northeast as Kendall county.
Bureau, Fulton, Grundy, Henderson, Henry, La Salle, Livingston, Marshall, McLean, Mercer, Peoria, Putnam, Rock Island, Stark, Tazewell, Warren, Woodford are also included.
The plan has three tiers, with guidelines for several industries like restaurants, salons, bars, and offices.
A region would move up a tier if they have a sustained increase in 7-day rolling average (7 out of 10 days) in the positivity rate and one of the following severity indicators:
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- 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
A map of the plan’s regions will soon be available www.coronavirus.illinois.gov
