State officials announce Sunday that Chicago has made enough progress in the fight against COVID-19 to re-enter Phase 4 of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s statewide resurgence plan, but Chicago’s recently reopened bars and restaurants will keep their current capacity.
Chicago’s coronavirus testing positivity rate remained below 6.5% for a third consecutive day, clearing the way for Chicago to leave the state’s Tier 1 restrictions and enter Phase 4 for the first time since November.
The city moved to Tier 1 last week, allowing bars and restaurants to seat customers indoors at either 25% of capacity or 25 people per room, whichever is less.
Under Phase 4, establishments are allowed to operate at 50% capacity or serve less than 50 people at once, whichever is lesser, but Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a statement Saturday a rush to expand capacity too quickly would be “irresponsible.”
“With cases and positivity rates still higher than before the second surge, now is the time to keep safeguards in place to ensure continued progress and hopefully prevent any rollbacks in the future,” the mayor said.
Under Phase 4, indoor recreational businesses such as bowling alleys and skating rinks are able to re-open and operate at either 40% capacity or have less than 50 customers, whichever is less, and establishments must stop serving alcohol at 11 p.m. and close by midnight, state officials said. Multiple groups may also meet in the same place, as long as they are social distanced and in different rooms.
