CHICAGO — For weeks, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has been under mounting pressure to reopen the state he shut down in an effort to curb the spread of the new coronavirus, insisting all along he would be guided only by science and data in lifting restrictions.
The regional, five-phase road map for reopening that the Democratic governor laid out Tuesday was replete with metrics that set a high bar for advancing each step of the way — and made it clear life will be different for some time.
The final phase of Pritzker’s plan, when conventions, festivals and sporting events resume, won’t kick in until there’s a vaccine, treatment or widespread immunity to COVID-19.
Until then, “the option of returning to normalcy doesn’t exist,” Pritzker said at his daily briefing Tuesday.
“That means we have to figure out how to live with COVID-19 until it can be vanquished. And to do so in a way that best supports our residents’ health and our health care systems, and saves the most lives,” he said.
The plan divides the state into four regions: northeast Illinois, north central Illinois, central Illinois and southern Illinois, each of which could enter different phases of reopening at different times under the plan.
The state is currently in the second phase of the plan, labeled “flattening,” which relaxed some restrictions that had been in place since March. The earliest a region can move from the second phase to a third “recovery” phase is May 29, Pritzker said.
Each move forward to another phase comes with a caveat — a backslide in data will result in a return to the previous phase’s restrictions.
“Moving backward is honestly the last thing that anyone wants to do,” Pritzker said. “But if the virus begins to attack more people or the health care systems are heading toward becoming overwhelmed in any region, swift action will need to be taken.”
Pritzker laid out the long road to recovery as state officials reported the highest number of COVID-19 fatalities in a 24-hour period, announcing 176 deaths on Tuesday. The statewide death toll now stands at 2,838. Officials also announced 2,122 new known cases, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 65,962 since the pandemic began.
In order to move into the third phase of Pritzker’s plan, labeled “recovery,” the share of people testing positive for the coronavirus would have to be at or under 20% and increase no more than 10 percentage points over a 14-day period. There would have to be no overall increase in hospital admissions for COVID-19-like illness for 28 days — and surge capacity of at least 14% of ICU beds, ventilators and surgical beds would have to be available.
May 1 is the first day for the 14- and 28-day measurement periods to begin, and the assessment period begins anew when each phase begins, Pritzker said.
Data on available medical and surgical beds, by region, was not immediately available Tuesday. But as of Sunday night, the state’s northeast region had 18.6% of its ICU beds available and 64% of its ventilators available. The northeast region includes Cook, Lake, DuPage, Will, McHenry, Kane, Kendall, Grundy and Kankakee counties.
The third phase allows a much wider range of businesses and activities to reopen, under certain restrictions, and gatherings of 10 or fewer people for any reason could resume.
Manufacturing, offices, retailers, and barbershops and salons could reopen, with capacity limits and other restrictions. Face coverings would still be required. Fitness and health clubs would also be able to offer one-on-one training and outdoor classes, while limited child care and summer programs could operate. Teleworking will continue to be “strongly encouraged” during that phase, Pritzker said.
Schools would continue to conduct remote learning, retailers would have to follow capacity limits set by health officials, and face coverings would still be required in public.
One of the biggest obstacles to moving from this phase to the next likely will be the requirement for widespread tracing and monitoring of those who’ve come into contact with a COVID-19 patient.
Pritzker’s plan uses the same bench marks on the rate of positive tests, hospital admissions and hospital capacity for Phases 2, 3 and 4. What changes with each phase are the requirements for coronavirus testing and contact tracing of new cases.
On testing, to move from the current Phase 2 to Phase 3, a region must have testing available for all patients, health care workers, first responders, people with underlying conditions, and residents and employees in nursing homes and long-term care facilities. To move to Phase 4, a region must have virus testing available to anyone regardless of symptoms or risk factors.
As for contact tracing, moving from Phase 2 to Phase 3 will require the region to have a program in place that can begin tracing and monitoring some cases within 24 hours. To move to Phase 4, a region must begin contact tracing within 24 hours of diagnosis for more than 90% of cases.
The state has been able to increase the availability of virus tests in recent weeks, but an expansion of contact tracing efforts is just getting underway.
In the fourth phase — “revitalization” — “nonessential” businesses would reopen more fully, though still adhering to new safety precautions. As in the previous phases, employers would be encouraged to provide accommodations for workers who are especially vulnerable to the virus.
Social life would begin to look a little more like normal, with dine-in service permitted once again at restaurant and bars, and cinemas and theaters allowed to reopen, all with new capacity limits. Gatherings of up to 50 people would be allowed to resume.
Child care centers and schools would reopen under guidance from state public health officials. Face coverings would still be required, as would social distancing measures. Reaching this phase would require a continued decline in the rate of new infections and hospitalizations.
The requirements would be the same for a wider range of businesses to open under Phase 4 of the plan. But moving to that stage also would require widespread testing to be available, regardless of symptoms or risk factors.
The state has been able to increase the availability of virus tests in recent weeks, but an expansion of contact tracing efforts is just getting underway.
The state has said it would need 3,800 contact tracers, but the public health departments that would undertake that work have for the most part not even started to increase staffing in that area. Pritzker has said announcements about those recruiting efforts would be coming soon.
The fifth and final phase — “Illinois restored” — would be a full reopening of the state’s economy. Festivals, conventions and other large events will be on hold until that phase. Only when the final phase is reached would all businesses, schools and recreational activities resume, though unspecified new safety guidelines would remain.
The state advanced from the first phase of the plan, called “rapid infection,” into the second phase last week when a modified stay-at-home order took effect Friday. The current “flattening” phase allowed nonessential retail businesses to reopen for curbside pickup and delivery and for additional outdoor activities like golf and boating to resume under social distancing guidelines.
The metrics that the state Department of Public Health will be using to track each of the four regions, which mirror state Department of Public Health emergency medical regions, will be available online so the public can see them, Pritzker said.
Pritzker’s stay-at-home order extension has faced legal challenges, growing anger from conservatives and rural parts of the state, and several protest rallies. A number of Downstate elected officials have pushed Pritzker to release regional reopening plans that take into account differences in infection rates between the Chicago area and Downstate.
House Republican leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs and Senate GOP leader Bill Brady of Bloomington have both urged Pritzker to allow portions of the state’s economy to reopen on a regional basis.
Brady said that “while it is important to have a plan that gives us hope, we need to look at it in greater detail.”
In particular, Brady questioned the requirement that hospitals show no overall increase in admissions for COVID-19-like illness for 28 days before a region can move from one phase to the next, rather than the 14-day windows recommended in federal guidelines.
A spokesperson for Durkin said he was still reviewing the plan and had no immediate comment.
Senate President Don Harmon praised Pritzker for offering a “forward-looking” plan to reopen the economy.
“It offers hope during economic dark days while reminding everyone of how dangerous and deadly this virus remains,” the Oak Park Democrat said in a statement.
A spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan, a Chicago Democrat, did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
In a statement, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office commended Pritzker for “articulating an approach to reopening Illinois premised on data and science driven decision-making that continues to prioritize the health and safety of our residents.”
The city will soon be releasing its own “Chicago-specific plan that complements the state plan,” the statement said.
“With the health of our residents at its center, the Chicago plan will take into consideration the unique circumstances and considerations for Chicago,” the statement said.
The state reopening plan largely relies on residents to police themselves, but Pritzker said local law enforcement agencies across the state will be asked to monitor for violations and “consider taking actions when necessary.” Pritzker also left open the possibility that the plan may be subject to future modifications.
“I’m not afraid to redesign the playbook if the rules change,” he said.
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(Chicago Tribune reporters Gregory Pratt, Hal Dardick, Rick Pearson and Joe Mahr contributed to this report.)
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