46% Will Not Eat Out, 62% Uncomfortable With Indoor Entertainment

BOLINGBROOK, IL — A slight majority of people who responded to a poll for Bolingbrook Patch readers said they were not comfortable dining out as the state entered Phase 4 of the governor's Restore Illinois reopening plan amid the pandemic.

Almost 46 percent said they did not want to partake in dining out — whether inside or outside. About 20 percent were comfortable with outdoor dining only, and almost 33 percent said they were OK either way.

At the same time, more than 62 percent of the respondents said they are not ready for indoor entertainment such as a film or theater performance. Some Bolingbrook Patch readers expressed concern about Illinois opening back up as coronavirus infection rates increase in other states.

One reader said the state is "opening too soon" and "many people will not follow the safety rules for being safe." Another said, "I thought to was probably the right time to begin opening up more, but our numbers are going up and I don't like that."

State health officials on Wednesday announced 1,187 new cases of the coronavirus and 8 additional deaths from COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the virus. The statewide total now stands at 156,693 confirmed infections and 7,226 deaths, not counting another 1,132 probable cases and 201 probable deaths.

In the past 24 hours, labs in Illinois have processed 38,161 coronavirus tests, for a total of more than 2 million since the pandemic began. The state's rolling, seven-day positivity rate is about 3.1 percent, down from more than 16 percent earlier this year, but up 0.7 percent from last week.

"The positive cases are still rising, and they are showing people dining outdoors in crowds not wearing masks," one respondent said. "I think for such an unprecedented unique unplanned event that Illinois has done a great job with everything," another said in reference to the speed at which the state has reopened.