City of Breese issued the following announcement on Mar. 19.
The Illinois Department of Public Health’s (IDPH) press release announcing their daily test data is available via this link. Preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total tests from March 11 through March 17 is now 2.4%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from March 11 through March 17 is 2.7%. Cases by county can be found on the state’s coronavirus website at 
coronavirus.illinois.gov.
As of today, the State of Illinois has administered more than 4.3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccinations. There are approximately 12.6 million residents of Illinois. Currently, approximately 58% of Illinois residents age 65 and older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. For residents age 16 and older, approximately 28% have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Today, Governor JB Pritzker announced the creation of a “Bridge” transition period from Phase 4 to Phase 5. More information about that announcement is available in his press release via this link. When 70% of the state’s 65 and older population has received at least one dose of a vaccine, Illinois will move into the “Bridge” transition period.
The “Bridge” transition period restrictions are available via this link.
After a 28-day monitoring of the “Bridge” transition period, the state will be eligible to move into Phase 5, as long as 50% or more of Illinois residents, 16 and older, have received at least one dose of a vaccine. Phase 5 will remove capacity restrictions and other regulations in place under previous mitigations and during the “Bridge” transition period. The Governor’s presentation slides from today’s press conference are available via this link.
That means that if the state keeps on pace with vaccinations, community events, festivals and parades will be allowed to resume as soon as May. This could change if vaccination progress slows or if a resurgence of the virus occurs. The Illinois Municipal League (IML) will be tracking this and providing updates on the state’s progress as we get closer to that time.
Governor Pritzker has stated that he will not end the state’s face covering requirements until the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issues a declaration saying that it is safe to do so. The CDC’s website regarding face coverings is available via this link.
During a briefing with the Governor yesterday, I asked if he would still be issuing disaster declarations to authorize remote meetings even into Phase 5. He stated that disaster declarations will still be needed and that he would be willing to work with IML to continue providing municipalities the authority to conduct remote meetings. We will communicate with the Governor’s staff about this and other aspects of the disaster declarations that might still be necessary going forward.
Regarding vaccinations, the Governor also announced that we are on track to meet President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.’s target to have vaccines available to all adults by May 1. In Illinois, all adults 16 and older will be eligible to receive a vaccine starting Monday, April 12. The Governor may announce other categories of vaccine recipients who will become eligible prior to that date.
Original source can be found here.
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