No Indoor Dining, Drinking In Will-Kankakee Amid Surge In Cases

WILL COUNTY, IL — Restaurants and bars in the Will-Kankakee region will be forced to suspend indoor service starting Friday after a surge in coronavirus cases in the region over the past few weeks.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Tuesday that Region 8 (Kane and DuPage counties) and Region 7 (Will and Kankakee counties) will face enhanced coronavirus restrictions after positivity rates there surpassed 8 percent for three consecutive days.

Those restrictions include a ban on indoor service at restaurants and bars, as well as a 25-person limit on any gatherings in those four counties, Pritzker said.

Restrictions will be lifted when the region records positivity rates under 6.5 percent for three days in a row, while public health officials will add more restrictions if the regional positivity rate remains above 8 percent for 14 days in a row.

Pritzker said his administration will give priority consideration to businesses in regions facing new restrictions through its $220 million Business Interruption Grants program.

"The new wave of the virus is disrupting small businesses in these regions," Pritzker said.

"The actions we take today to slow the spread of this virus will define what happens in the coming days, weeks and months," said Dr. Justin Macariola-Coad, interim chief medical officer at Advocate Sherman Hospital in Elgin. "Wearing a mask, washing your hands, and keeping your distance from others will prevent the spread of this illness and save lives. The more we ignore taking these basic steps, the more people will get sick and the harder it will be on the health care system and our brave frontline clinical workers to keep up with the pandemic this winter and help care for our communities across the northwest suburbs."

"There is no easy fix for the effects of this virus on our economy and on our public health." Pritzker said. "But we can, and we will, manage through this."