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CCDPH Officials Announce Bridge to Phase 5 Reopening Guidance in Suburban Cook County 

May 14, 2021 | Press Release

Increased capacity in many sectors; new guidance for those fully vaccinated 

Forest Park, IL—Today, the Cook County Department of Public Health is issuing COVID-19 Bridge to Phase 5 reopening guidance, which continues to ease mitigation measures with a cautious approach to reopening suburban Cook County. This guidance is effective immediately. 

The Bridge to Phase 5 aligns with the Chicago Department of Public Health and the Stickney Township Public Health District. The local guidance follows statewide vaccination metrics, including 70% of residents 65 and older statewide have received their first dose of the vaccine and no increase in COVID-19 metrics. 

In suburban Cook County, 90% of the residents ages 60-79, and 75% of those over the age of 80 have received at least one dose of the vaccine. Additionally, more than 1 million residents or 47% of the population have received at least one dose of the vaccine, while over 800,000 people or 36% are fully vaccinated. 

“The vaccination rate and improved metrics are encouraging, but to fully reopen we encourage everyone over the age of 12 to get vaccinated and continue to wear a mask, watch your physical distance and wash your hands,” said Dr. Kiran Joshi, Senior Medical Officer and Co-Lead, Cook County Department of Public Health. 

The Bridge to Phase 5 includes the following increases in capacities: 

Retail 

  • Capacity limits increase from 50% to 60%  

Fitness Centers 

  • Capacity limits in centers increase from 50% to 60%, (class size remains the same, up to 50 people indoor and 100 outdoor) 

Restaurants and Bars 

  • Indoor dining capacity increases to 75% (from 50% or 100 people) 
  • No table size limits for parties if all patrons 16 and older are fully-vaccinated 
  • For those not fully-vaccinated, table size is 10 indoors and outdoors 

Zoos and Museums 

  • Capacity increases from 25% to 60% 

Festivals and outdoor spectator events 

  • Increase from 15 people per 1,000 square feet, to 30 people per 1,000 square feet 

Fully-vaccinated people will not count against capacity limits in settings in all settings. Business owners will be required to document vaccination status by  Businesses that choose to participate in allowing the exemption for fully-vaccinated patrons must establish a system for verifying vaccination status. 

It is possible to revert to a previous phase if there is a resurgence of the virus, measured by an increasing trend over a 10-day monitoring period in the COVID-19 case rate and one of the following: 

  • Hospital admissions for COVID-19 like illness trend increasing and above a daily average of 150 
  • COVID-19 patients in the hospital trend increasing and above 750 daily  
  • Mortality rate trend increasing and above a daily average of 0.1 
  • ICU bed availability less than 20% 

Visit: https://cookcountypublichealth.org/communicable-diseases/covid-19/mitigationguidance/  to view CCDPH Mitigation Orders.  

 

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