Tier 1 Mitigations Start Thursday In Homer Glen, Lockport

Andrea Earnest
·3 min read

HOMER GLEN-LOCKPORT, IL — Public health officials lifted some coronavirus restrictions in Will County Thursday, meaning Homer Glen and Lockport have moved to the least restrictive of the state's three tiers of COVID-19 resurgence mitigation measures.

The Illinois Department of Public Health said in a release that Region 7, which includes Will and Kankakee counties, will be moving from Tier 3 to Tier 1. This change means that restaurants and bars in Will County can reopen for indoor dining at 25 percent capacity. In addition, all bar and restaurant guests should be seated at tables. Ordering, seating and congregating at bars is prohibited and bar stools should be removed. Tables must also be six feet apart, under Tier 1 mitigation measures.

Meetings, events and gatherings are limited to less than 25 guests or 25 percent of overall room capacity.

For Homer Glen and Lockport, this includes guidance for the following settings and industries:

Bars and Restaurants

  • All bars and restaurants close at 11 p.m. and may reopen no earlier than 6 a.m. the following day

  • Indoor service limited to less than 25 guests or 25 percent capacity per room

  • Establishments offering indoor service must serve food

  • Indoor service reservations limited to 2-hour maximum duration and maximum 4 persons per party (dining only with members of the same household recommended)

  • All bar and restaurant patrons should be seated at tables

  • 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

  • Includes private clubs and country clubs

Meetings, Social Events and Gatherings

  • Limit to less than 25 guests or 25 percent of overall room capacity both indoors and outdoors

  • Applicable to professional, cultural and social group gatherings

  • Not applicable to students participating in-person classroom learning, or sports

  • This does not reduce the overall facility capacity dictated by general Phase 4 business guidance such as office, personal care, retail, etc.

  • No party buses

Organized Group and Recreational Activities

  • Sports should follow the mitigation measures set forth in the All Sport Guidelines, which outlines appropriate levels of practice and competition based on individual sport risk

  • Face coverings must be worn at all times in fitness centers, including while engaged in individual exercise regardless of person or machine spacing

  • Recreation, fitness centers and outdoor activities (not included in the above exposure settings) follow Phase 4 guidance

IDPH will continue to closely monitor test positivity, ICU bed availability, and the number of people in the hospital with COVID-19. Should data show regions trending in the wrong direction, based on the established mitigation metrics, regions could once again find themselves in a higher tier with increase measures.

The only region which remains in Tier 3 mitigations is region 4. Regions 8, 9, 10 and 11 are in Tier 2 mitigations, regions 1, 2 and 7 are in Tier 1, and regions 3, 5 and 6 have returned to phase 4.

This article originally appeared on the Homer Glen-Lockport Patch