Pritzker shuts down casinos, video gambling terminals, caps capacity limits at retail stores to slow COVID-19 spread, starting Friday

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker announced targeted restrictions to slow the spread of COVID-19 on Tuesday that include closing down casinos and limiting capacity at retail shops including “big box” stores and health and fitness centers to 25%, beginning Friday.

Video gambling terminals will also be shut down across the state. Museums and theaters will also be forced to close. For health and fitness centers, indoor group classes are banned, reservations are required, and masks must be worn the entire time.

Pritzker shared some modeling from the Illinois Department of Public Health that said between 17,000 and 45,000 COVID-19 deaths could occur between now and March 1 if no mitigations were applied.

"We can save potentially thousands of lives in the next few months, if we make changes right now to stop this in its tracks," Pritzker said.

Instead of the targeted mitigations by each of the state's 11 health care regions, the entire state is moving to the Tier 3 mitigations in the state's COVID-19 plan.

"This is not a stay-at-home order," Pritzker added. "The best way for us to avoid a stay-at-home order is to stay home. We are asking you to choose Zoom instead of packing people in a room for Thanksgiving. Make alternations to your routines now so that we can be together later."

Schools and daycares can still remain open if they choose to, the governor added.

State Rep. Jeff Keicher, R-Sycamore, said he fears local economies could take a hit and downtown shopping areas in DeKalb and Sycamore could revert back to the number of vacant storefronts seen after the 2008 Great Recession absent a federal rescue package.

He also issued sharp rebuke for Pritzker's continuance to act without legislative input.

"Here's the frustration that I and many Illinoisans have had with the governor since this began," Keicher said. "He keeps moving the goal line as it pertains to the data he's relying on, the metrics he's using and the transparency in how that's arrived at. And so when I see the governor yelling at local officials to enforce those rules, yet he appears to be planning to leave the state for the Thanksgiving holiday. It's horrible leadership, and that's not a partisan comment."

In recent days, the governor has hinted at further restrictions coming in order to slow down the rising spread of the novel coronavirus, which has resulted in the state setting daily records for people hospitalized with COVID-19. This order would stop short of a stay-at-home order like the one ordered in March.

"We've got two competing issues. And they share a sense of urgency, potential devastation and impact on people's lives that we see each and every day in our towns," Keicher said. "On the one hand, there is no question that this virus is spreading. On the other hand, there's not a question that there's no longer a safety net for our small mom and pop businesses."

IDPH reported 12,601 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 97 additional deaths on Tuesday.

The seven-day rolling average of Illinois’ positivity rate remained flat at 12.5%. The state received the results of 94,205 COVID-19 tests in the 24 hours leading up to Tuesday afternoon.

Illinois now has seen 597,849 total cases of the virus, and 10,875 people have died. The state has conducted a total of 9,255,658 tests since the start of the pandemic.

"The science is there and it’s pretty simple: If you’re not in the physical presence of other people, the virus can’t spread to someone else," IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said. "It can and will spread at a party. It can and will spread at a dining establishment. It can and will spread at a large Thanksgiving gathering. It can and will spread at a wedding. It can and will and has spread at funerals. ​​​​​​"

As of late Monday, Illinois had 5,887 COVID-19 patients in the hospital, setting another state record. Hospitalizations for COVID-19 in Illinois have increased each day for 23 consecutive days.

Of those hospitalizations, 1,158 were in intensive care units, the most since May 16, and 545 were on ventilators.

"We’re actually worried that not everyone will have a bed in the hospital," Ezike said, adding that she's already getting calls from hospitals that there isn't a bed available.

Probable cases come from rapid, antigen tests, and although IDPH does not break out how many cases came from those, the state conducted more than 9,800 antigen tests on Monday.

Regional update:

Additional restrictions can be placed on any of the state’s 11 health regions if the region sustains an increase in its average positivity rate for seven days out of a 10-day period.

A region also may become more restrictive if there is a seven-day increase in hospital admissions for COVID-19-related illness or a reduction in hospital medical/surgical beds or ICU capacity below 20%. If a region reports three consecutive days with greater than an 8% average positivity rate, additional infection mitigation will be considered through a tiered system of restriction guidelines offered by the IDPH.

Currently, all 11 of the state's health regions are under additional mitigation measures from the IDPH. Regional data from IDPH remains on a three-day lag.

The North Suburban region (McHenry and Lake counties) has seen nine days of positivity increases and seven days of hospital admission increases, a decrease in both metrics. The region’s positivity rate saw a significant decrease from 17.1% to 16.2%. Currently, 30% of medical/surgical beds are available and 44% of ICU beds.

Region 9 (the North Suburban region) began tier one mitigation efforts on Oct. 31.

Within this region, McHenry County's seven-day positivity rate average decreased a full percentage point to 20.2%. Lake County, which does about two-thirds of the testing in the region, is reporting a rolling average of 14.8%.

The West Suburban region (DuPage and Kane counties) has seen nine days of positivity increases and four days of hospital admission increases. The region’s positivity rate decreased to 15.8%. Currently, 24% of medical/surgical beds are available and 34% of ICU beds.

After failing to lower its positivity rate below 8%, the region (Region 8) is currently in tier two of the state's additional mitigation restrictions.

The South Suburban region (Will and Kankakee counties) has seen nine days of positivity increases and eight days of hospital admission increases. The region’s positivity rate increased to 20.3%.

Currently, 12% of the region's medical/surgical beds are available and 16% of ICU beds. There are 25 ICU beds available out of 162 in the region. The region (Region 7) is currently in tier two of the state's additional mitigation restrictions.

The North region (Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, Jo Daviess, Lee, Ogle, Stephenson, Whiteside and Winnebago counties) has seen eight days of positivity increases and seven days of hospital admission increases. The region's positivity rate decreased for the second consecutive day, this time to 20.0%. Currently, 35% of medical/surgical beds are available and 36% of ICU beds.

The North region (Region 1) also is in tier two of the state's additional mitigation restrictions.

The North-Central region (Bureau, Fulton, Grundy, Henderson, Henry, Kendall, Knox, La Salle, Livingston, Marshall, McDonough, McLean, Mercer, Peoria, Putnam, Rock Island, Stark, Tazewell, Warren and Woodford counties) has seen nine days of positivity increases and nine days of hospital admission increases. The region's positivity rate remained flat at 17%. Currently, 38% of medical/surgical beds are available and 36% of ICU beds.

The region (Region 2) is in tier one of the state's additional mitigation restrictions.

Chicago has seen nine days of positivity increases and eight days of hospital admission increases. The region's positivity rate decreased to 15.5%. Currently, 26% of medical/surgical beds are available and 32% of ICU beds.

Region 11 (the city of Chicago) is currently in tier one of the state's additional additional mitigations.

Suburban Cook County has seen nine days of positivity increases and nine days of hospital admission increases. The region's positivity rate remained flat at 15.9%. Currently, 24% of medical/surgical beds are available and 30% of ICU beds. The region (Region 10) is currently in tier one of the state's additional mitigation restrictions.

Newly reported deaths include:

• Bureau County: 1 female 80s, 1 male 90s

• Cass County: 1 female 80s

• Coles County: 1 female 80s

• Cook County: 1 female 30s, 2 females 60s, 3 females 70s, 1 male 70s, 2 females 80s, 3 males 80s, 4 females 90s, 1 male 90s, 1 male 100+

• DuPage County: 1 female 40s, 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s, 1 male 90s

• Franklin County: 1 male 80s

• Greene County: 1 female 80s

• Hancock County: 1 male 80s

• Iroquois County: 1 female 70s

• Jefferson County: 1 female 80s

• Jo Daviess County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 100+

• Kane County: 1 female 60s, 1 male 60s, 1 female 70s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s, 1 male 90s

• Kankakee County: 1 male 80s, 1 male 90s

• Knox County: 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s

• Lake County: 1 male 40s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 90s, 1 male 90s

• Logan County: 1 female 70s, 1 male 90s

• Macon County: 2 males 70s, 1 female 90s, 1 male 90s

• Madison County: 1 female 50s, 1 female 60s, 2 females 70s, 2 males 70s, 2 females 80s, 3 males 80s, 1 female 90s

• Marion County: 1 female 60s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s

• Morgan County: 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s

• Ogle County: 1 female 80s, 1 male 90s

• Peoria County: 1 female 60s

• Rock Island County: 1 female 70s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s

• Sangamon County: 1 female 90s

• St. Clair County: 1 male 90s

• Tazewell County: 2 males 70s

• Vermilion County: 1 male 70s, 2 males 80s

• Warren County: 1 male 60s

• Wayne County: 1 female 80s

• Whiteside County: 1 male 70s

• Will County: 2 females 80s, 1 male 80s

• Williamson County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s

• Winnebago County: 1 male 70s, 1 male 80s, 1 male 90s