With COVID-19 numbers up, new restrictions in O’Fallon for at least two weeks
Due to rising cases in metro-east Region 4, new COVID-19 mitigation measures took effect in O’Fallon on Tuesday, Aug. 18, for places of worship, funerals, social events, bars, restaurants and gaming facilities.
Specifically, the measures include no dancing, bar stools or party busses. And public gatherings are limited to either 25 people or 25 percent room capacity, whatever is the least amount of people due.
“We need everyone’s cooperation,” said O’Fallon Mayor Herb Roach. “Our county, like the rest of the state, made strides to lower the positivity rate but unfortunately, the confirmed cases of COVID-19 are now rising each day in our region.”
With a resurgence in coronavirus cases in St. Clair and the other six counties (Bond, Clinton, Madison, Monroe, Randolph and Washington), the communities in the Region 4 are under stricter regulations, which includes O’Fallon.
As of Monday, the O’Fallon zip code of 62269 reported five new cases. The total as of Progress deadline Tuesday morning was 363 overall.
O’Fallon Police Chief Eric Van Hook explained the region’s 7-day rolling average of positive coronavirus tests was over 8 percent for three days in a row, which surpassed the threshold from the Illinois Department of Public Health.
For the next 14 days, IDPH will track the rate of positive COVID-19 tests in the metro-east, and that will determine whether to ease restrictions or add more, or keep current restrictions in place
The same guidelines of wearing a face covering, practicing social distancing and frequently washing hands remains in place, just as they have since March.
In restaurants, masks should be worn by employees and customers going to their tables and when leaving, Roach said.
Roach explained some of the restrictions during the O’Fallon City Council meeting Monday.
Roach said names and phone numbers will be taken by each restaurant or bar to have the ability to contract trace if necessary — therefore reservations are required. A log of one name and phone number of one member of a party will be kept.
Indoor tables are reduced to six people or less and tables should be placed six feet apart.
To limit congregating, bar stools are being removed and no individuals or groups can stand in a bar or waiting area.
“The positive test rate for our region has reached 8.4 percent, which exceeds the state’s maximum positivity rate threshold of 8 percent. These restrictions will stay in place until our positivity rate drops below 6.5 percent,” Roach said. “It was actually higher than 8.4 percent today (Monday), it jumped up.”
St. Clair County, Region 4 numbers continue in wrong direction
On Monday, the region set a new single-day record of cases — 255 new cases were reported.
Region 4 also saw its second day of increases in hospitalizations — 51. As of Progress deadline, 33 percent of the region’s hospital beds and 41 percent of ICU beds were occupied, according to state health officials.
As of Tuesday morning, St. Clair County had 4,927 coronavirus cases and 160 deaths related to the virus. This leads the metro-east in both categories.
On Monday, new cases ranged in age from young people under 10 to people in their 80s, and officials noted there was a large spike in teens who were diagnosed with the virus.
St. Clair County saw double-digit increases in COVID-19 cases in three ZIP codes Monday: 62223 (Belleville, Swansea: +11 for a total of 269); 62221 (Belleville: +10 for a total of 453) and 62226 (Belleville, Swansea: +12 for a total of 523).
Businesses thanked for cooperation, warned about compliance
“Since the beginning of this pandemic, we have worked with both county and state officials and health departments to keep our community safe from this virus and keep our businesses operating to the maximum limits allowed,” Roach said.
“We ask that you help us control the spread of this virus by following and encouraging your fellow residents, friends, and family members to follow these mitigation measures,” he said.
Van Hook said closing time at all bars, restaurants and gaming facilities will be 11 p.m., no matter what time the liquor license says, which lines up with the St. Louis city and county times.
Roach warned businesses about compliance.
“We have also been told that the State Police, Gaming Board and the State Liquor Commission may be checking on facilities for their compliance. We do not want to see any local business be accused of violating these requirements, causing the spread of the virus or having their state gambling or liquor license pulled,” he said.
He thanked businesses for their cooperation as well.
“We also know that all these requirements and restrictions are not easy for the businesses and residents of O’Fallon. We will get through this together,” he said.
O’Fallon PD captain clarifies crowd limits
There was some confusion regarding the crowd limit at places of worship or Sabbath, but Captain Kirk Brueggemann of the O’Fallon Police Department explained that the either 25 people allowed or 25 percent of overall room capacity is for funerals, meetings and social events other than worship services. He asked Bryan Whitaker from the St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency to clarify.
“The 25 or less gathering limit includes all public and private gatherings, social events and meetings regardless of where they are held. Based on specific clarification this does include funerals and events at a place of worship. Furthermore, a question was received as to whether events of 25 or less could be held at a reception center and the state has confirmed they can,” Whitaker said.
Whitaker said the Resurgence Mitigation Plan for Region 4 does not impact worship services in the sanctuary, but it does impact social events held at places of worship (i.e. after service gatherings, meals, birthday celebrations etc.). With the exception of worship services, the metric of “limit to the lesser of 25 guests, or 25 percent of overall room capacity” still applies.
“This continues to be a very fluid event and we’ll do our best to keep you updated. At this time, I have not received any updated information regarding new guidelines for schools from the IDPH. If you have any questions let me know. Thanks for your patience,” Whitaker said.
Additional resources for new guidelines
Further details of the IDPH guidelines can be found at https://dceocovid19resources.com/assets/Restore-Illinois/Resurgence-Migitations-Region-4.pdf.
If O’Fallon residents have any questions concerning these new requirements, the mayor said to contact Grant Litteken, assistant city administrator at glitteken@ofallon.org.
As of Progress deadline, Illinois had seen a total of 7,756 deaths during the pandemic, officials reported. A total of 207,854 people have been diagnosed with the coronavirus.
This story was originally published August 18, 2020 at 11:11 AM.