Pritzker Will Extend “Stay at Home” Order Until May 30 but with Changes:  Governor Pritzker announced today that he will extend the current “Stay at Home” order until May 30 but with some modifications. The current Executive Order, which has already been extended once, was due to expire April 30. However, the particular language of this new order extension will not be available until he signs the order next week.

According to the governor’s comments today, these modifications include the following but come with a stern warning from the governor: If we start seeing crowds and people not obeying the rules, restrictions will go back into place.

• Manufacturers and Other Essential Businesses: Essential businesses and manufacturers, currently covered under the current “Stay at Home” order, will also now be required to provide face-coverings to all employees not able to maintain social distancing requirements. This new order will also include occupancy limits for these essential businesses and precautions such as staggering shifts and operating only essential lines for manufacturers.

• Face Coverings: With the start of this new “Stay at Home” order beginning May 1, individuals will be required to wear a face-covering when six-foot social distancing proves difficult, such as in grocery stores, essential businesses, etc.

• State Parks, Golf, Outdoor Recreation: Under the guidance of the Department of Natural Resources, state parks will begin a phased-in re-opening. IDNR should have a list of reopened state parks up on their website after May 1. Golf will also be permitted, but only under strict safety guidelines and adherence to 6 ft social distancing guidelines. Boating and fishing in groups of no more than two people will also be permitted, but unclear at this time if that only applies to these re-opened state parks.

• Non-Essential Retail Stores: Non-essential retail stores may re-open but only to fulfill online and phone orders through pick-up outside the store and delivery.

• Other Businesses Allowed to Re-Open: Greenhouses, garden centers, nurseries, and animal grooming services may re-open but with employees and customers wear a face covering and following social distancing requirements.

Again, we will not see a final Executive Order containing these new modifications until next week. CICI will be reporting back to the membership when this order becomes official.

Illinois COVID-19 Modeling: During his daily press briefing, Governor Pritzker discussed the rationale for extending this “Stay at Home” order was based on a number of different models being considered by the state’s health experts.  According to these models, the peak, or plateau, of the COVID-19 infection rate is happening now through the middle of May. Unfortunately, during this period, the state could see between 50-150 fatalities per day until we start witnessing a downward trend in infections rates and deaths.  These models also show that deaths in the state will not flatten until August. In addition, Pritzker commented that the modeling also showed that the death rate would have been ten times greater in absence of a “Stay at Home” order.

Update on COVID-19 Cases:The Illinois Dept. of Public Health (IDPH) is now reporting a total of 1,688 deaths, an increase of 123 deaths since yesterday. There are currently 36,934 positive cases of COVID-19 in Illinois, an increase of 1,826 from yesterday.   

In total, 173,316 people have now been tested in Illinois for the virus, which is an increase of 8,970 as of yesterday. Of those people tested, 21.3% of the results are positive for COVID-19, which is the same percentage as its been for the last few days.   

You can 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. In addition, Western Illinois University has an put together this Map of COVID-19 Cases in Illinois & Surrounding States which gives you picture of where COVID-19 cases are occurring in relation to areas surrounding Illinois. 

Worldometer also has a site with pertinent statistics on a state by state breakdown and comparison. Also, the City of Chicago has a good categorization of the cases within the city.

Webinar on New Federal Stimulus Package:  MxDUSAwill be hosting a webinar on federal resources and recovery opportunities for manufacturers and suppliers.  The presentation will specifically focus on the most recently passed CARES Act stimulus package, the outlook for a fourth stimulus package, and manufacturing-related federal recovery actions and opportunities, especially as they relate to small businesses.  You can Register for this webinar here: MxD USA

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