Restrictions Lifted On Metro East As Region 4 Returns To Phase 4

BELLEVILLE, IL — New restrictions imposed on bars, restaurants and other businesses in the Metro East will be lifted Friday at 5 p.m. as the region returns to Phase 4 of Gov. J.B. Pritzker's Restore Illinois plan, state health officials said Friday morning. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, Region 4, which includes Bond, Clinton, Madison, Monroe, Randolph, St. Clair and Washington counties — saw its test positivity rate decline from a high of 10.5 percent on Aug. 27 to 5.8 percent on Friday.

Restrictions on closing times and seating capacity were imposed on bars and restaurants on Aug. 18 as the positivity rate spiked above 8 percent and strengthened on Sept. 2 as it continued to rise, leading to the suspension of all indoor dining service and stricter limits on social gatherings.

But on Wednesday, the governor said the region had shown "enormous progress." He credited close coordination between the state and local health departments and efforts by community leaders to encourage mitigation efforts.

“After surpassing an 8 percent positivity average in August — later reaching a peak 7-day average of over 10 percent — Metro East leveled off between an average of 7 and 8 percent positivity for several weeks, and as of this morning, has secured the progress necessary to end the increased mitigations in Region 4,” Pritzker said Friday, citing the state's testing operation for part of the progress. “All of this takes place in a landscape where Illinois is continuously increasing our ability to test for and monitor this virus: we are now pushing an average of nearly 60,000 tests a day — and we surpassed 6 million tests to date. There is testing available to you if you need it. If you were potentially in contact with a COVID-19 case, if you’re feeling unwell, or if you just want to check in, you are able to get a test at no cost.”

In May, the state opened a community testing site in East St. Louis to make testing more accessible to residents of the region. Officials say testing and contact tracing remains critical to preventing community spread of the virus.

Illinois Department of Public Health director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said she was excited to see the region's weeks of sacrifice pay off.

“It takes communities working together to reduce the spread of the virus and lower the positivity rate," she said. "I want to thank Region 4 for its hard work to decrease the risk for all of Illinois.”

State health officials said they are continuing to monitor every region for warning signs that cases may be spiking. An 8 percent positivity rate for three or more days in a row will trigger new restrictions in a given region, as will other metrics, such as increased hospital admissions or reduced hospital capacity. Once a region crosses the 8-percent threshold, it must bring its positivity rate below 6.5 percent for three days in a row before restrictions will be lifted.