Illinois moves into phase 3 of the COVID-19 reopening plan Friday. Here’s what changes
On Friday, southern Illinois is expected to move into the next phase of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s five-part plan to reopen businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.
The governor’s office developed the gradual reopening plan, Restore Illinois, with the input of researchers and public health officials. Its five phases were designed to slowly reopen businesses in a way that limits the spread of COVID-19, though it has drawn the ire of GOP lawmakers and some downstate residents who believe the economic strain does not warrant such a conservative public health approach.
Illinois is in phase two, which is marked by a flattening of the number of infections, hospitalizations and other data. Nonessential retail stores remain closed to foot traffic, though they can offer curbside pickup and delivery. Illinoisans are required to wear face coverings outside the home, but could begin golfing, boating and fishing with social distancing.
In phase three, nonessential retail can reopen with capacity limits and other precautions, as can offices, salons, barbershops and manufacturing. Pritzker announced last week restaurants can begin outdoor dining and child-care centers can reopen, additions to the original plan.
Transitioning between phases requires at least 28 days of data on infection and hospitalization rates in a region. Illinois is divided into four regions: southern, central, northeast and north-central. All of the regions are set to move into phase three except Chicago.
The requirements to reopen under phase three are:
- At or under a 20% positivity rate of all COVID-19 tests and increasing no more than 10% over a 14-day period,
- No overall increase in hospital admissions for COVID-19-like illness for 28 days, and
- Available surge capacity of at least 14% of ICU beds, medical and surgical beds and ventilators.
As of Saturday, southern Illinois was on pace on all three metrics:
- A positivity rate of 5.7% and a decrease of 5.5 percentage points over a 14-day period
- A 59.8% decrease in hospital admissions for COVID-like illness since May 1
- A surge capacity of 46% of ICU beds, 37.8% of medical and surgical beds and 77.4% of ventilators.
The soonest Illinois can move into phase four is June 26. In the fourth phase, nonessential travel and gatherings of 50 people or less can resume, but face coverings and social distancing will be the norm. Schools, restaurants and bars can reopen.
As the state plods toward May 30, here’s what you need to know about phase three.
What opens in phase three?
Groups of 10 or less are allowed with social distancing, and the following businesses can reopen with precautions in phase three, which is expected to begin after May 29 in southern Illinois.
- Restaurants and bars: Curbside pickup, delivery, drive-thru or limited outdoor dining only with tables six feet apart and employees wearing masks
- Nonessential retail: Open with capacity limits and Illinois Department of Public Health safety guidelines
- Salons, barbershops, tattoo shops and spas: Open with capacity limits and public health safety guidelines
- Child-care centers: Open with less than 10 children per classroom in the first four weeks of operation; children over than 2 years old should wear masks
- Offices: Working from home still strongly recommended, but offices can reopen with social distancing and other public health safety guidelines
- Manufacturing: Open with social distancing and other public health safety guidelines
- Gyms: One-on-one personal training and outdoor classes of 10 people or less
The following outdoor activities will be allowed in phase three.
- State parks will fully reopen
- Indoor and outdoor tennis clubs: Open with capacity limits and public health safety guidelines
- Golf: Courses can allow foursomes out on the same tee times; carts permitted with one person per cart; two golfers can share a cart if they are members of the same household
- Boating and camping: Allowed with up to 10 people permitted
Driving ranges, outdoor shooting ranges and paintball courses: Open with public health safety guidelines
What are the safety guidelines?
The state public health department has yet to release industry-specific guidelines for reopening. Pritzker has said those will be available “soon,” but some general guidelines are already available from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
Here are some CDC guidelines for different industries. These can also be used by customers to determine if a business or organization is following recommendations.
Restaurants and bars
- Promote healthy hygiene practices such as hand washing and employees wearing a cloth face covering, as feasible
- Intensify cleaning, sanitization, disinfection and ventilation
- Encourage social distancing and enhance spacing at establishments including by encouraging drive-through, delivery, curb-side pick up, spacing of tables/stools, limiting party sizes and occupancy, avoiding self-serve stations, restricting employee shared spaces, rotating or staggering shifts, if feasible
- Train all employees on health and safety protocols
- Develop and implement procedures to check for signs and symptoms of employees daily upon arrival, as feasible
- Encourage anyone who is sick to stay home
- Plan for if an employee gets sick
- Regularly communicate and monitor developments with local authorities and employees
- Monitor employee absences and have flexible leave policies and practices
- Be ready to consult with the local health authorities if there are cases in the facility or an increase in cases in the local area
Small businesses
- Actively encourage sick employees to stay home. Develop policies that encourage sick employees to stay at home without fear of reprisals, and ensure employees are aware of these policies.
- Develop other flexible policies for scheduling and telework (if feasible) and create leave policies to allow employees to stay home to care for sick family members or care for children if schools and childcare close.
- Promote etiquette for coughing and sneezing and handwashing. Provide tissues, no-touch trash cans, soap and waterb and hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
- Perform routine environmental cleaning. Routinely clean and disinfect all frequently touched surfaces, such as workstations, countertops, handrails and doorknobs. Discourage sharing of tools and equipment, if feasible.
- Provide education and training materials in an easy to understand format and in the appropriate language and literacy level for all employees, like fact sheets and posters.
- Have conversations with employees about their concerns. Some employees may be at higher risk for severe illness, such as older adults and those with chronic medical conditions.
- Talk with companies that provide your business with contract or temporary employees about their plans. Discuss the importance of sick employees staying home and encourage them to develop non-punitive “emergency sick leave” policies.
- Plan to implement practices to minimize face-to-face contact between employees if social distancing is recommended by your state or local health department. Actively encourage flexible work arrangements such as teleworking or staggered shifts.
- Consider the need for travel and explore alternatives. Check CDC’s Travelers’ Health for the latest guidance and recommendations. Consider using teleconferencing and video conferencing for meetings, when possible.
- If an employee becomes sick while at work, they should be separated from other employees, customers, and visitors and sent home immediately. Follow CDC guidelines for cleaning and disinfecting areas the sick employee visited.
Provide physical guides, such as tape on floors or walkways and signs on walls, to ensure that staff and customers remain at least 6 feet apart in lines and at other times as needed (e.g. guides for creating “one-way routes” in aisles).
Child-care facilities
- Perform daily health checks for all children, caregivers, staff, and visitors including: Symptom checks - persons who display signs of illness must not enter the facility; temperature checks - persons with a fever of 100.4 or above must not be admitted;
- Frequently sanitize all high-touch surfaces as recommended in CDC guidance
- Require face coverings: In hallways and when entering/exiting the facility for all persons over age 2; In classrooms for children over age 2 to the extent practicable; in classrooms for staff (masks or face shields); during outdoor play, face coverings for children and staff are optional
- Require physical examinations for children and staff as per licensing guidelines
- Capacity will be limited to the smaller of the program’s licensed capacity or 10 children
- Group day care homes must be able to keep children in separate groups of 10 or fewer children, up to their licensed capacity
- In order to reopen, all child care homes must: Maintain stable groups of children each day; be able to provide sleeping spaces separated by 6 feet
Staff must be limited to working with one group of children
Programs should staff for at least 2 adults per classroom if possible
Playgrounds must be used by one group of children at a time per defined area; no mixing of groups
Children and staff should change shoes upon arrival or use shoe-covers while indoors
