ST. CLAIR, Ill (KMOX) - Some Illinois counties in the greater St. Louis area are under new, stricter restrictions starting Wednesday due to an increase in the area's COVID-19 positivity rate.
Executive Order 63 from Gov. JB Pritzker put new rules on Region 4 (Bond, Clinton, Madison, Monroe, Randolph, St. Clair and Washington Counties) after the COVID-19 positivity rate grew higher than 8% for three consecutive days.
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Here is what the new restrictions include:
For restaurants:
• All restaurants close at 11pm and may reopen no earlier than 6am the following day
• No indoor dining or bar service
• Tables should be 6 feet apart No standing or congregating indoors or outdoors while waiting for a table or exiting
• Reservations required for each party
• No seating of multiple parties at one table
For bars:
• All bars close at 11pm and may reopen no earlier than 6am the following day
• No indoor service
• All bar patrons should be seated at tables outside
• No ordering, seating, or congregating at bar (bar stools should be removed) • Tables should be 6 feet apart
• No standing or congregating indoors or outdoors while waiting for a table or exiting
• No dancing or standing indoors
• Reservations required for each party
• No seating of multiple parties at one table
Public spaces and gatherings/meetings:
• Limit to lesser of 25 guests or 25% of overall room capacity both indoors and outdoors
• No party buses
• Gaming and Casinos close at 11:00pm, are limited to 25 percent capacity, and follow mitigations for bars and restaurants, if applicable
Some say they'll disobey the new orders:
St. Clair County's Emergency Management Director Herb Simmons says the calls started yesterday of businesses telling him "we're gonna be open." He says he sees things on Facebook of people and businesses saying "don't follow this."
"Those of you who put out there and say 'Well, it's a 99% survival rate.' Who wants to volunteer to be that other percentage and risk your family members," Simmons says. "If that's you, raise your hand and let us know because I don't think shows any compassion for your fellow man."
Simmons says the best defense to get back to normal is wearing a mask, social distancing and washing your hands.
When will the restrictions end?
The Illinois Department of Public Health will continue to track the positivity rate in regions requiring additional mitigations over a 14-day monitoring period to determine if mitigations can be relaxed, if additional mitigations are required, or if current mitigation should remain in place. If the positivity rate averages less than or equal to 6.5 percent over a 3-day period, some restrictions will be released.
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