SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Illinois could soon be headed to the so-called “Bridge Phase” of Governor Pritzker's Restore Illinois plan towards a full reopening of the state.
Governor JB Pritzker said Monday it appears the state of Illinois is on a decent trajectory towards moving to the so-called "Bridge Phase" - the phase between the current Phase 4 and full reopening in Phase 5, which would allow for higher capacity limits at museums, zoos, meetings, and more.
"It feels to me, it looks to me, if you look at all the hospital admissions data, like we’re in decent shape and moving exactly as I would hope we would towards the Bridge Phase," Pritzker said.
Governor Pritzker said he hadn’t seen the latest data, but that it’s possible the state could be moving to the Bridge Phase next week.
“I think the common view is that Illinois has weathered the storm well, that we’ve seen what’s happened in in Michigan, and that hasn’t happened in Illinois — thank God,” Pritzker said. “This virus is sometimes unpredictable. We’ve seen new variants that arise. The UK variant is the one, of course, that is most prevalent.
“That’s why we’ve been very careful not to move to the Bridge Phase while we watch that variant in Illinois, but it looks very good so far. We look at all of those variants — I talked to the experts about this — I think everybody feels like we’re in a decent position — again, following the metrics — we believe that we’ll be able to move to the Bridge Phase...
"I can’t say exactly what day that is...I believe that it may be next week, and it’s only because I haven’t looked at today’s data or the data from yesterday with regard to hospital admissions.”
According to the IDPH, nearly 80 percent of those 65 and older have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while roughly 55 percent of those 16 and older have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Both figures surpass the benchmarks Pritzker set in March when unveiling guidelines for his newly created “Bridge Phase."
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On Monday, Governor Pritzker and Mayor Lightfoot are scheduled to provide an update on reopening efforts in both the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago.