Gov. J.B. Pritzker Tuesday afternoon announced statewide restrictions will be put into place starting this Friday.
The change puts the entire state of Illinois under Tier 3 based on the Resurgence Mitigation Plan that was released in July.
Gatherings are recommended to only include household members and offices are advised to work remotely as much as possible.
This follows the Knox County Health Department making a plea Tuesday for employers to allow more remote work, at least for two weeks.
Some of the new restrictions will include health centers and gyms only being allowed to operate at 25 percent capacity, all indoor classes canceled, and masks must be worn at all times.
Personal care services like salons and barbers are reduced to 25 percent capacity, as are general retailers like Wal-Mart.
Grocery stores however can operate at 50 percent.
The Pritzker administration in a release says this “latest round of mitigations aims to limit gatherings and encourages residents to stay home as much as possible and follow proper safety measures when out in public.”
Pritzker at a Tuesday press conference says it boils down to, “if you don’t need to do it, don’t.”
Pritzker says, “COVID-19 is spreading so quickly and so widely, and our hospitals are beginning to experience real strain and at the current infection rate they will be overwhelmed.”
The statewide positivity rate has reached record highs recently and hospitalizations have already surpassed the Spring peak.
