SPRINGFIELD – The Argosy Casino in Alton has permission to reopen after a ruling today about Restore Illinois COVID-19 restrictions by Governor J.B. Pritzker and the IDPH.

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The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced Region 4 (Bond, Clinton, Madison, Monroe, Randolph, St. Clair, Washington) is moving to Tier 2 effective today.

All 11 regions have now moved out of Tier 3 mitigations. If metrics continue to improve or are stable, regions 10 and 11 are on track to advance to Tier 1 on Saturday, January 23, 2021. Information about which tier and phase regions are in can be found at the top of the IDPH website homepage.

“With all regions of Illinois now out of Tier 3, we can now see that the entire state is headed down the right path,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “During the summer, we were on this same path. We know that we must continue to take precautions and be smart about how we relax some of the mitigation measures, which are in place to protect our health and safety.”

Alton Mayor Brant Walker was excited to be moving to the lower tier of the Restore Illinois Plan. Anytime it goes to less, it always good.

"The casino can reopen in Tier 2," Walker said. "The boat has been closed since November. It has been absolutely devastating to the city to have the casino closed. I believe the casino will still have to be open with a limited capacity in this tier."

“We are pleased to hear our region as whole is trending in the right direction,” said St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern. “We will continue to advocate to our residents to mask up, wash their hands, and stay safe so we can continue to increase capacity at our hospitals and reduce our positivity rates. We appreciate the work and partnership of IDPH and Governor Pritzker.”

IDPH will continue to closely monitor test positivity, ICU bed availability, and the number of people in the hospital with COVID-19. Should data show regions trending in the wrong direction, based on the established mitigation metrics, regions could once again find themselves in a higher tier with increased measures.
Metrics for moving from a higher to lower tier are as follows:

Moving from Tier 3 to Tier 2

Test positivity rate = 8% and below 12% for three consecutive days (7-day average); AND

Staffed ICU bed availability = 20% for three consecutive days (7-day average); AND

Sustained decline in COVID patients in hospital (7-day average for 7 of 10 days)

Moving from Tier 2 to Tier 1

Test positivity rate between 6.5% and 8% for three consecutive days (7-day average); AND
Staffed ICU bed availability = 20% for three consecutive days (7-day average); AND

No sustained increase in COVID patients in hospital (7-day average for 7 of 10 days)

Moving from Tier 1 to Phase 4

Test positivity rate = 6.5% for three consecutive days (7-day average); AND

Staffed ICU bed availability = 20% for three consecutive days (7-day average); AND

No sustained increase in COVID patients in hospital (7-day average for 7 of 10 days)

Information about mitigation and resurgence metrics can be found on the IDPH website at http://www.dph.illinois.gov/regionmetrics.

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Tier 2 Restrictions

Bars and restaurants

Suspend indoor service

Outdoor, delivery and takeout service continues under updated hours

No tables exceeding 6 people

Cultural institutions

Open under Phase 4 rules

Gaming and casinos

Open under Phase 4 rules from Illinois Gaming Board

Hotels

Limited to registered guests

Fitness centers closed or operating on reservation model at 25% capacity

Household gatherings

Limiting to 10 people is encouraged

Indoor fitness classes

Groups limited to 10, including fitness classes

Meetings, events and gatherings (excluding inperson school or sports)

Limit to 10 guests indoors and outdoors

Offices

Open under Phase 4 rules

Organized group recreational activities (fitness centers, sports, etc.)
Limit to lesser of 25 guests or 25% overall capacity indoors and outdoors?

Sports follow measures in the All Sport Guidelines

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