Governor Pritzker, Mayor Lightfoot Recommend People to Stay at Home: Stopping short of issuing a “Stay at Home” order similar to the one issued in the Spring, Governor Pritzker this week recommended staying at home as much as possible, leaving only for necessary and essential activities, such as working from home (if an option), buying groceries, visiting the pharmacy, and limiting travel for at least the next three weeks.  However, Governor Pritzker also warned that if these recommendations are not taken seriously and the positivity and hospitalization rate doesn’t improve, the state could be headed for another “Stay at Home” order in the coming days. 

Similarly, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot issued an Advisory today strongly advising residents to adhere to the following guidelines, which will go into effect on Monday, November 16, 2020, at 6:00 am:

• Only leave home to go to work or school, or for essential needs such as seeking medical care, going to the grocery store or pharmacy, picking up take-out food, or receiving deliveries. If you do leave home, practice social distancing by staying 6 feet away from others and wearing a face covering at all times.
• Do not have gatherings in your home with anybody outside of your household (except for essential staff such as home health care workers or educators), even with trusted family or friends.
• Avoid all non-essential, out-of-state travel; if travel is essential, quarantining or testing negative prior to travel is required, depending on which state a traveler is originating from.
• Comply with City and State Orders, including wearing face coverings, limiting gatherings, and mandating early closure of non-essential businesses at 11 p.m.
• Practice social distancing and avoid touching surfaces frequently touched by others if you go outside to get fresh air.
• Use remote modes of communication like phone or video chat instead of visiting friends or family, especially on holidays such as Thanksgiving.

In addition to this Stay-at-Home Advisory, the City of Chicago is also imposing new restrictions to limit meetings and social events to 10 individuals (both indoors and outdoors), which will also go into effect on Monday, November 16, 2020, at 6:00 a.m. This is identical to gathering restrictions already put into place this week for Region 1 (Northwestern Illinois, Rockford), Region 5 (Southern Illinois), Region 7 (Kankakee, Will Counties), and Region 8 (DuPage, Kane Counties). This capacity limit applies to events such as weddings, birthday parties, business dinners/social events, and funerals, and is applicable to any venue where a meeting or social event is taking place, including meeting rooms. 

It should be noted that these advisory recommendations do not apply to essential businesses and their essential workers.

Worst Hospitalization Rate Since Pandemic Began: Public health officials announced today that the state is experiencing the worst hospitalization rate since the pandemic began in the Spring.  Since October 1, there have been a 179% increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations, a 135% of patients in the ICU, a 161% on patients on ventilators, and a 217% increase in the number of fatalities.  The state also has the fewest number of available hospital beds since the pandemic began.  Even sadder, the state is also recording the highest number of COVID-positive deaths since May.  As of last night, 5,258 people were in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 956 patients were in the ICU and 438 patients were on ventilators.

Updated Specific State Information on COVID-19 Orders:  The American Chemistry Council (ACC) has again updated their comprehensive chart detailing state specific orders, re-opening plans, and other restrictions as well as executive orders and legislation relating to business liability.  This chart is attached to this Update.

Update on COVID-19 Cases: IDPH is reporting 536,542 positive tests of COVID-19 in Illinois, an average increase of 12,679 new positive tests per day since reported here 2 days ago on November 10.  In total, 8,765,100 tests have now been conducted in Illinois for the virus, an average increase of 97,040 tests per day since November 10.  The state’s average positivity rate over all 11 regions is at 12.6% for the last week, but at 13% over the last 2 days.  You can see where the various regions are at in terms of their positivity rates, hospitalizations and other metrics at this link. 

Unfortunately, IDPH is reporting a total of 10,477 deaths, an average increase of 94 per day since November 10.

You can also check where these cases are occurring at the State of Illinois COVID-19 website which also contains more information on this outbreak.

Also, IDPH has a case breakdown of the number of positive cases in Chicago and each county relative to the number of fatalities.  The IDPH website also now includes a breakdown of the cases under each zip code in the state.

For information on other states and countries, John Hopkins University has developed this website that provides invaluable resources at a one-stop location detailing testing and tracing trends, timelines of COVID-19 policies, and interactive maps.

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