Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday said coronavirus restrictions in Illinois are on track to be loosened next week as COVID-19 hospital admissions have started to come down from a recent surge.
“It looks to me, if you look at all the hospital admissions data, like we’re in decent shape and moving exactly as I would hope we would for the bridge phase,” Pritzker said at an appearance in Chicago. “I believe it may be next week.”
The state’s incremental reopening plan consists of a bridge phase that would precede a full-scale reopening, allowing a wide range of businesses to open their doors to more customers.
Despite reaching a vaccine milestone in March that was supposed to trigger looser restrictions — 70% of those 65 and older receiving at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine — Pritzker’s transition phase was delayed due to the recent spring surge.
Pritzker said that the more transmissible coronavirus variants, particularly the one first seen in the United Kingdom, have played a part in health officials’ decisions to hold off on further reopening.
“The U.K. variant is the one, of course, that is most prevalent. It takes hold fairly quickly, and you can see the numbers rise very quickly. That’s why we’ve been very careful not to move to the bridge phase while we watch that variant in Illinois,” the governor said.
The state on Sunday reported 438 additional cases of the U.K. variant for a total of 2,507. Officials also reported 220 additional cases of the variant first seen in Brazil for a total of 899, 42 additional cases of the variant first seen in California for a total of 392 and 10 additional cases of the variant first seen in South Africa for a total of 49.
Despite the delays due to the third surge, Pritzker was optimistic Monday about the state’s trajectory.
“I think the common view is that Illinois has weathered this storm well,” he said. “I talk to the experts about this. I think everybody feels like we’re in a decent position. Again, following the metrics, we believe that we will be able to move to the bridge phase.”
Even some outside experts who previously suggested tighter restrictions or significant changes in public behavior were necessary to halt the spring surge acknowledge that it has slowed.
Experts at the University of Chicago who’ve modeled coronavirus trends for the governor’s office said in a report Friday that the rate of transmission fell from March 26 to April 20, with vaccinations accounting for 30% to 72% of the decline. That suggests “behavioral changes, seasonal variation, and other factors play significant roles in reducing transmission,” according to the report.
The bridge phase would allow businesses in a wide range of categories, from offices to retailers to gyms, to operate at 60% capacity, up from 50%. Amusements parks, museums and zoos would also rise to 60% capacity from the current 25%.
Ticketed and seated spectator events, as well as theaters and performing arts, also would have a 60% capacity.
Additionally, indoor social events would have a maximum capacity of 250 people, while outdoor event capacity would rise from a maximum of 100 to 500 people. Festivals and general admissions for outdoor spectator events would increase from 15 people per 1,000 square feet to 30.
Illinois Department of Public Health spokeswoman Melaney Arnold said the situation is “fluid” and was unable to estimate when the state will move to the bridge phase.
“Right now the metric that is holding the state back is the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19,” Arnold said. “Although not significant yet, we have been seeing a recent increase in deaths. We know that hospitalizations and deaths are lagging indicators and are likely a reflection of the recent increase in cases. Fortunately, we are seeing the number of new cases decrease.”
After more than a month of steadily rising, the seven-day average of total hospital admissions statewide peaked at 2,157 on April 22 before descending again. As of Sunday, the average was 2,050. It had fallen as low as 1,125 in mid-March before the recent surge.
As of Sunday night, 1,963 people in Illinois were hospitalized with COVID-19, with 479 patients in intensive care units and 249 patients on ventilators.
The number of people getting vaccinated continues to decline. Over the last seven days, an average of 78,440 vaccines were administered daily in Illinois, the lowest since an average of 77,876 doses was reported Feb. 28.
An additional 16,920 coronavirus vaccine doses were administered Sunday, bringing the total to 9,410,057, public health officials reported Monday. The particularly low daily count was attributed partly to missing data from several pharmacies this weekend, including Walgreens and CVS. The doses will be added to vaccine counts over the next couple of days, officials said.
The number of residents who have been fully vaccinated — receiving both of the required two shots, or Johnson & Johnson’s one shot — reached 4,119,343, or 32.33% of the total population.
As of Monday, 54.92% of those 16 and older have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine.
That exceeds the threshold of 50% required in Pritzker’s reopening plan for all restrictions to be lifted after a 28-day monitoring period in the bridge phase, assuming cases and hospitalizations remain steady or decline.
Officials also reported 2,049 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19, accounting for a seven-day case average of 2,658, the lowest since the same average was reported April 3. Monday’s case count resulted from 49,473 tests.
The seven-day positivity rate statewide for cases as a share of total tests is 3.4% as of Sunday.
Officials also reported 28 additional fatalities, contributing to a statewide death toll of 22,047. The total number of known infections in Illinois since the start of the pandemic reached 1,341,777.
