State health officials announced on Tuesday that Region 10, which includes Homewood and Flossmoor, has moved to Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois Plan. Additional information about which tier and phase regions are in can be found at the top of the IDPH website homepage.  

A Phase 4 Guidelines Overview can be found on the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity website.

The move means:

• Restaurants and bars can allow parties of up to 10 people for indoor service.
• Tables should be 6 feet apart to separate parties.
• Impermeable barriers can be installed between booths that are less than 6 feet apart.
• Retail and personal care businesses should continue to limit occupancy to 50% of capacity.
• Some indoor recreation facilities, including bowling alleys and skating rinks can reopen.
• Indoor playgrounds and trampoline parks should remain closed.
• Indoor recreation facilities should allow occupancy of 50 customers or 50% of capacity, whichever is less.
• Museums should limit occupancy to no more than 25% of capacity.
• Guided tours should be limited to 50 or fewer people per group.
• Meetings and social events should be limited to 50 people or 50% of room capacity, whichever is less.
• Multiple groups may meet in the same facility if they are socially distanced and in separate rooms.

The Illinois Department of Public Safety will continue to closely monitor the region’s test positivity rates, ICU bed availability and the number of people in the hospital with COVID-19. If data shows trends in the wrong direction, based on the established mitigation metrics, the region could once again be moved to a more restrictive tier in the plan. 

Metrics for moving from a higher to lower tier include:

Moving from Tier 3 to Tier 2

• Test positivity rate is 8% and below 12% for three consecutive days (seven-day average).
• Staffed ICU bed availability is 20% for three consecutive days (seven-day average).
• Sustained decline in COVID patients in hospital (seven-day average for seven of 10 days)

Moving from Tier 2 to Tier 1

• Test positivity rate between 6.5% and 8% for three consecutive days (seven-day average).
• Staffed ICU bed availability is 20% for three consecutive days (seven-day average).
• No sustained increase in COVID patients in hospital (seven-day average for seven of 10 days).

Moving from Tier 1 to Phase 4

• Test positivity rate is 6.5% for three consecutive days (seven-day average).
• Staffed ICU bed availability is 20% for three consecutive days (seven-day average).
• No sustained increase in COVID patients in hospital (seven-day average for seven of 10 days).

Information about mitigation and resurgence metrics can be found on the IDPH website.