CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — More changes are coming to Chicago's COVID-19 restrictions.
Governor Pritzker ordered Chicago bars and restaurants to halt indoor service starting Friday. The order came after Mayor Lightfoot announced a retightening of COVID-19 restrictions, including a two-week "business curfew" for all non-essential businesses, which stated that all consumption of food or alcohol must cease at 10 p.m. and liquor sales must end at 9 p.m.
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Now, the Mayor is giving businesses an extra hour of outdoor operations.
Mayor Lightfoot announced Thursday that the business curfew will now be in effect from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m., to allow for an extra hour of outdoor dining. According to the Mayor's Office, the change will make the city’s rules more closely line up with new restrictions from the state.
The city also will modify its liquor curfew, to allow for on-site or to-go alcohol sales at bars and restaurants to continue until 11 p.m. The sale of alcohol at grocery stores, liquor stores, and other businesses with packaged goods licenses still face a 9 p.m. cutoff for liquor sales.
“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Chicago’s businesses have stepped up and shown their dedication to the health of their community,” Chicago Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) Commissioner Rosa Escareno said in a statement. “Unfortunately we must ask you once more to do what’s necessary to save lives, but we will continue doing everything we can to support our business community. The more Chicagoans that take this deadly pandemic seriously, the quicker we can get our bars and restaurants open again.”
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The state’s new COVID-19 restrictions go into effect Friday morning. The new mitigations include:
Bars
• No indoor service
• All outside bar service closes at 11 p.m.
• 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
Restaurants
• No indoor dining or bar service
• All outdoor dining closes at 11 p.m.
• Outside dining 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
Meetings, Social Events, Gatherings
• Limit to lesser of 25 guests or 25 percent of overall room capacity
• No party buses
• Gaming and Casinos close at 11 p.m., are limited to 25 percent capacity, and follow mitigations for bars and restaurants, if applicable
The new restrictions come as coronavirus surges in Chicago, and across Illinois. The mitigations are designed to slow the spread of COVID-19.
The city will be offering a pair of webinars on Friday, at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. to help businesses understand the new regulations. To register and learn more visit chicago.gov/businesseducation. BACP investigators also will reach out to bar and restaurant owners directly to discuss the new regulations.