Politics & Government
Full Reopening Of Illinois Still Months Away As First COVID-19 Vaccines Administered
Gov. Pritzker said the state is closer to entering Phase 5 of the reopening plan with no restrictions on business or gathering sizes.
By Greg Bishop, The Center Square:
Tuesday marked the beginning of a process to move Illinois toward reopening entirely, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said, but a full reopening isn’t likely for months.
After four health care workers in the Peoria area took the first of two doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine that were delivered Monday, Pritzker said the state is closer to entering Phase 5 of his COVID-19 reopening plan with no restrictions on business or gathering sizes.
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“Phase 5 of the Restore Illinois plan that we put out months and months ago calls for an opening of the state and it’s in the event that there is a vaccine that is widely available or successful treatments that are widely available,” Pritzker said.
“It will take some time,” he said. “The manufacturing process will take some time so that they can deliver them as fast as they can, but months will go by.”
Find out what's happening in Across Illinoisfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Back in the spring, Pritzker ordered the state’s economy to shut down, except for businesses his administration deemed essential. That was for more than two months. Heading into the summer, the governor unilaterally ordered a five-phased reopening plan for the state based on regions and health metrics. The regions evolved as did the varying phases and restrictions on businesses.
Most recently, using a variety of metrics such as the COVID-19 test positivity rate, hospitalizations and exposure data, the governor prohibited all indoor service for bars and restaurants. He largely left enforcement up to local communities, causing a patchwork of COVID-19 restrictions.
The governor said the federal guidelines for first who will get the vaccine first focuses on healthcare workers, then those in long-term care facilities and then other categories of people will be able to get the vaccine.
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