Pritzker Adds Bar & Restaurant Restrictions in Southern Illinois, Says More May Be Coming
Governor JB Pritzker speaks at a news conference in Murphysboro Monday announcing new mitigations in southern Illinois as cases spiked in that region. He is flanked by Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. (SOURCE: State of Illinois Livestream)
Governor JB Pritzker announced the closure of bars and restaurants to indoor dining in southern Illinois and warned other regions of the state could soon follow.
The restrictions take effect Thursday and impact 20 of the state’s southernmost counties: Marion, Jefferson, Wayne, Edwards, Wabash, Perry, Jackson, Franklin, Williamson, Saline, Hamilton, White, Gallatin, Union, Johnson, Pope, Hardin, Alexander, Massac, and Pulaski.
The 7-day positivity rate for the impacted counties has risen over 9%. The state begins implementing mitigations when a region reaches 8% three days in a row. Along with the closure of bars and restaurants to indoor service, the state is limiting gatherings to fewer than 25 people. The rules also force an 11:00 P.M. nightly closure for the casino in Metropolis and other gaming facilities in the state.
“We can’t wall off Illinois from the surge. But we can take extra precautions and do better than others at following the mitigations that slow the spread,” said Pritzker. “Here in Illinois, it looks like a new wave could be upon us.”
Dr. Craig Davis, a Carbondale-based physician for Southern Illinois Healthcare Group says the rising infections are being seen in hospitals.
“In recent weeks, we’ve watched admission to our COVID units climb,” he said. “It’s time for all of us to look inward.”
Officials repeated calls for residents to wear face coverings in public and to keep their distance when possible.
“What remains most alarming to me as a physician and father is the complacency I see in some of our community members,” said Davis, who decried what he called the “polarization over simple infection prevention methods, especially surrounding masks and social distancing.”
In some parts of the state, local leaders have been critical of closure of bars and restaurants to indoor patrons in an already fragile economy. Pritzker pointed out studies show bars and restaurants are often part of, or the start of, many outbreaks.
“We want restaurants to stay open, we want people to safely dine indoors, we want kids to go back to school, we want loved ones to get their visits in long-term care facilities, said Dr. Ngozi Ezike, Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health. “We all have the power to make this happen.”
UPDATE: 9:33 A.M.:
A trio of House Republicans criticized Pritzker's announcement:
State Rep. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro), Dave Severin (R-Benton), and Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis) issued the following joint statement on Monday following Governor JB Pritzker’s visit to Murphysboro to announce increased state-imposed mitigation to be implemented in Region 5 based on three consecutive days of an eight percent or greater positivity rate.
“We disagree with Governor Pritzker's decision to impose mitigation efforts on Region 5. Our region has been moved into mitigation based solely on the COVID-19 positivity rate. We believe the positivity rate metric is not a reliable indicator of the need for mitigation as it is dependent on the number of tests conducted in the region.
We also believe strongly that other metrics, such as the hospitalization rate and availability of intensive care unit beds and regular hospital beds are more accurate in determining whether mitigation is appropriate.
Furthermore, part of the numbers that are factored into the positivity rate include outbreaks at Choate Mental Health and entities associated with the Illinois Department of Corrections. The Governor bears responsibility for the safe operation of agencies under his control. Nowhere in the Governor’s comments did he take personal responsibility for the lack of control of the spread of the coronavirus at State-run facilities.
Also, we take serious offense that Governor Pritzker has chosen to treat the citizens of Southern Illinois that live in Region 5 differently than the people of the Metro East. Governor Pritzker, at the urging of his Democrat compatriots in the General Assembly, gave the Metro East region two weeks to prepare for mitigation. In Southern Illinois’ Region 5, where only Republicans are elected as State Representatives and State Senators, our businesses have been given just 48 hours to shut down in-person dining and bar service.
This is unacceptable.
For businesses that are potentially eligible for Business Interruption Grants, we are further disappointed that Governor Pritzker did not outline when applications would be available, how much funding will be available or put staff from the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity in place in Southern Illinois to help affected businesses navigate the grant process.
We recognize the Governor’s decision to place Region 5 back into COVID mitigation will impact all of the constituents that we each serve, which makes it important that we use the best metrics available before imposing additional restrictions on our citizens. We recognize and understand the seriousness of COVID-19.
The pandemic’s effects continue to be far-reaching, but we must fight to save Southern Illinois’ small businesses and our economy at large.
We are encouraging our constituents to practice responsible social distancing, wear masks, and practice enhanced sanitation efforts. The more that we do as a region to limit the spread of coronavirus, the faster these mitigations will be lifted. Until that time, we will continue to draw attention to our disagreements with the Governor’s approach and continue to demand the inclusion of the legislature in managing this pandemic to its eventual end."
Pritzker says other regions of the state could soon follow with restrictions this week.
“Every region of the state has started to move in the wrong direction,” he said.
The positivity rate in suburban DuPage and Kane counties has jumped to 8.5% in recent days. Kankakee and Will counties, which already faced indoor dining restrictions earlier this fall, has had its rate jump to 8.3% in recent days. The lowest rate of any region of the state is 6.2%, the City of Chicago.
The northwest region of the state, including Rockford, Galena, and DeKalb continues to see positivity rise even though it has faced similar mitigations since early in the month.
“It’s partially because people aren’t worried about this anymore,” Ezike said.
Pritzker was critical of other states around Illinois which have done little to quell the growth of COVID-19 cases.
“Ours will not be one of the states that takes no action in response to rising cases, hospitalizations, and deaths,” he said.
Pritzker says there is help for bar and restaurant owners impacted by closures.
“Although it’s true that the mitigations include some limitations on bars and restaurants, we have also provided Business Interruption Grants which will alleviate some of the burden for those bars and restaurants,” he said. “It doesn’t completely take away the damage that this virus is doing, there’s no doubt, but what we don’t want for businesses is for them to be spreading the virus inadvertently.”
Dr. Davis said he understands the frustration people have with the interruption to their daily lives, but closures, mask wearing, and social distancing are meant to help stop the impact COVID-19 has on people.
“Consider these short-term sacrifices for the long term greater good,” he said. “The enemy is the disease, it’s not each other.”
