New Restrictions For Will County: No More Indoor Dining, Drinking

Andrea Earnest
Updated ·2 min read

WILL COUNTY, IL — New coronavirus mitigation efforts will take effect in region 7, which includes Will and Kankakee counties, on Aug. 26. According to a release from the governor's office, the new restrictions are due to the region reaching 8 percent positivity for three consecutive days.

New mitigation efforts include:

Bars

  • No indoor service

  • All outside bar service closes at 11 p.m.

  • All bar patrons should be seated at tables outside

  • No ordering, seating, or congregating at bar (bar stools should be removed)

  • Tables should be 6 feet apart

  • No standing or congregating indoors or outdoors while waiting for a table or exiting

  • No dancing or standing indoors

  • Reservations required for each party

  • No seating of multiple parties at one table

Restaurants

  • No indoor dining or bar service

  • All outdoor dining closes at 11 p.m.

  • Outside dining tables should be 6 feet apart

  • No standing or congregating indoors or outdoors while waiting for a table or exiting

  • Reservations required for each party

  • No seating of multiple parties at one table

Meetings, Social Events, Gatherings

  • Limit to lesser of 25 guests or 25 percent of overall room capacity

  • No party buses

  • Gaming and Casinos close at 11 p.m., are limited to 25 percent capacity, and follow mitigations for bars and restaurants, if applicable

According to the release, these mitigations do not apply to schools. The measures will remain in effect over a 14-day period after which time more stringent mitigation measures can be implemented if metrics do not improve. You can see the new mitigations online here.

IDPH will track the positivity rate in region 7 to determine if mitigations can be relaxed, if additional mitigations are required, or if current mitigations should remain in place, a release states.

If the positivity rate averages less than or equal to 6.5 percent over a 14-day period, then region 7 will return to Phase 4 mitigations under the Restore Illinois Plan. If the positivity rate averages between 6.5 percent and 8 percent, the new mitigations will remain in place and unchanged. If the positivity rate averages greater than or equal to 8 percent after 14 days, more stringent mitigations will be applied to further reduce spread of the virus.


This article originally appeared on the New Lenox Patch