More COVID Restrictions Lifted In Grayslake

GRAYSLAKE, IL — For the first time since October, Grayslake and the rest of Lake County returned to Phase 4 of Gov. J.B. Pritzker's Restore Illinois reopening plan on Wednesday.

The shift in state-mandated coronavirus mitigation measures means bars and restaurants can allow parties of up to 10 people instead of four, and there are no longer any food service requirements.

Under Phase 4, the maximum permitted gathering size under Pritzker's executive orders has doubled from 25 to 50, with movie theaters and indoor performances again allowed in Grayslake.

The new phase allows some indoor recreational facilities to reopen, including skating rinks, bowling alleys, arcades and driving ranges. Amusement parks, indoor playgrounds and trampoline parks must remain closed, according to guidelines from the Pritzker administration.

“We’re excited to see the transmission of the virus declining to allow for additional loosening of restrictions,” McHenry County Department of Health Public Health Administrator Melissa Adamson said, in a statement announcing the shift. “The way forward, to Phase 5, will continue to demand that we practice the universal precautions to minimize the circulation of the virus. This includes staying home if you feel ill or were in contact with someone who is known to have the virus. Someone who gets the virus might be asymptomatic, but that individual is still able to pass the virus along to someone who might not be as fortunate.”

Group sizes of up to 50 are also allowed for outdoor recreation, and ticketed outdoor spectator events are permitted with up to 20 percent capacity.

Rules for retailers and service providers remain the same as the region moves from Tier 1 mitigation measures to Phase 4 — occupancy is capped at a 50 percent and masks are mandatory.

This week's loosening of COVID-19 restrictions was triggered by declines in the coronavirus positivity rate and number of hospitalized coronavirus patients in Lake and McHenry counties, Region 9 in the Restore Illinois plan.

The two-county region's rolling seven-day test positivity rate fell below the 6.5 percent threshold last week and has remained below it for three days. The rate stood at 6.2 percent Sunday, the most recent day where data is available from state officials.

The number of COVID-19 patients in the region's hospitals has also continued to drop, falling on 26 of the previous 30 days. Since the start of the year, the seven-day rolling average of people in Region 9 hospitals diagnosed with COVID has fallen by about 32 percent, according to data from the Illinois Department of Public Health.

The hospitals also had to keep at least one in five staffed intensive care unit beds empty to qualify for a reduction in regional mitigation measures.

After reaching a peak of 84 percent of capacity in mid-December, average ICU bed availability in Region 10 has exceeded the 20 percent threshold for more than a month. (On Jan. 18, the Pritzker administration eliminated the Restore Illinois plan's requirement that regions keep at least 20 percent of their surgical beds both empty and staffed to be eligible for reduced restrictions.)

In Lake County, the average number of daily new coronavirus cases detected last week was at its lowest level since the third week of October 2020, according to the Lake County Health Department. The county's seven-day rolling average of new cases in the county was 23 per 100,000 people.

While the per capita number of cases measures the incidence of coronavirus in a given population — and is used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to gauge an area's level of community spread — it is not a factor in Pritzker's Restore Illinois plan, which instead relies on test positivity rate alone as its lone measurement of the rate of new infections.

The county's test positivity rate was 8.5 percent for the week ending on Jan. 23, which is the most recent data available from the Illinois Department of Public Health. The health department has not posted updated ZIP code-level test positivity data since mid-November.

Phase 4 is the least restrictive phase of the governor's reopening plan Illinois has seen since its coronavirus outbreak began. In December, Pritzker indicated he is unlikely to order the state shifted to Phase 5 of the plan, which would allow conventions, festivals and other large events, until widespread vaccinations allow the state to reach a form of herd immunity.

According to state public health officials, about 10,400 residents of Lake and McHenry counties had reported being fully vaccinated as of Wednesday morning, and more than 17,600 others had gotten their first dose. Statewide, more than 244,500 people have gotten both doses statewide.

"Among those most populous states, Illinois is administering doses quite quickly," Gov. J.B. Pritzker said at a news conference Wednesday.

Illinois ranked 43rd among states in its per capita number of vaccines administered, as of Tuesday, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, trailing all of the largest 10 states in the country.

“The COVID-19 vaccine is an important tool to help us end the pandemic," said Lake County Health Department Executive Director Mark Pfister said, "but demand for the vaccine vastly outpaces our supply, and we urge people to be patient."

Jonah Meadows contributed to this article