State Public Health Official Announce COVID-19 Resurgence Mitigations to Take Effect Statewide at 12:01am on Friday, November 20, 2020

As State Reports Record-Breaking Daily Case Totals and Hospitalizations, New Mitigations Aimed at Saving Lives, Protecting Economy, and Preventing Another Stay-at-Home Order

“Tier 3 boils down to this: if you don’t need to do it, don’t.” – Gov. Pritzker

PAXTON-With a new wave of COVID-19 surging across the state of Illinois, the Midwest and the nation, Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced additional COVID-19 resurgence mitigations will take effect in every region across the state in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus. Tier 3 mitigations build on the Resurgence Mitigation Plan released in July to suppress the spread of the virus and prevent hospitals from becoming overrun. This latest round of mitigations aims to limit gatherings and encourages residents to stay home as much as possible and follow proper safety measures when out in public. The mitigations carefully balance the paramount goal of saving lives while preserving the option for in-person learning for children and protecting as much of the economy as possible from the continued impacts of the virus.

 
As of November 16th, in Region 6, there were 58 of 178 ICU beds available and 275 of 322 ventilators available.  In Ford County, there have been 203 new COVID cases within the last 13 days.  In comparison to its non-rural counterparts, the CDC states rural Americans may be at a higher risk during the pandemic due to the higher elderly population, higher rates of underlying chronic disease even after adjusting for age, and higher rates of disability.  In addition to these risk factors, the rural healthcare infrastructure is limited due to resource availability and geographic location.

 
Ford County Public Health Administrator, Lana Sample, states, “With the holidays around the corner, we must reconsider our family gatherings.  You might not be concerned about getting COVID yourself, but we must keep our loved ones in mind.  Until there is a vaccine, the best way to prevent new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths is to stay home, social distance when in public, and wear a mask.”  

While this latest round of mitigations does not include a stay-at-home order, if the mitigations are not adhered to and cases continue to rise in the weeks ahead, another order may be required. For all regions, additional mitigation measures taking effect Friday, November 20th and see attachment to view the guidance mitigations specific to Tier 3.  
To prevent further spread of COVID-19, Illinois residents are urged to stay home as much as possible, celebrate upcoming holidays with members of their household, and wear a mask when in public.  Anyone exhibiting signs of COVID-19 or who may have been in contact with someone exhibiting symptoms should seek out testing and quarantine at home; anyone who has test positive for this virus should isolate at home as directed by their physicians or local health department.  Ford County residents are also encouraged to take advantage of the free drive-through COVID testing sponsored by IDPH Friday, November 20th, at the Ford County Public Health Department.  Follow the latest regional metrics at: https://dph.illinois.gov/regionmetrics