Chicago will join rest of Illinois in advancing to next phase in coronavirus reopening on Friday

Chicago will move to phase four of reopening from the coronavirus this Friday along with the rest of the state, officials announced Monday.

That means museums, the Lincoln Park Zoo and youth summer camps, along with indoor dining and other amenities, will be allowed to open “with limited capacities and appropriate safeguards,” according to Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office.

City Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said the fact that Chicago has “actually blown right past the benchmarks that we had set for moving to phase four” in terms of lowering the spread of the disease convinced Lightfoot to move ahead despite concerns about spikes in cases in other cities and states that have reopened their economies more quickly.

Officials had talked about waiting until July 1 for phase four, but the extra five days isn’t needed, Arwady said.

Initially, indoor gatherings will be limited to no more than 50 people per indoor space and 25% of overall capacity, but Arwady said those numbers could be loosened further in coming weeks.

“Really, our local epidemiology will direct that decision, and our goal is to not see what we’ve seen in a lot of other states around the country that have moved very quickly into a wide reopening and then have seen some of those spikes and increases,” she said. “Our goal is to continue to move ahead just as quickly as it is relatively safe for us to do so, in partnership with all of our industries.”

But continue wearing masks and avoiding close contact with people, Arwady said.

“And if we keep seeing the progress that we’ve been seeing, I do think within phase four we’ll be able to further loosen those restrictions,” she said. “But I feel good about the fact that we’re moving forward, but we need people to keep wearing those face coverings, keeping that 6-foot distance and doing all the things we can do to keep Chicago on the good track that we’ve been.”

The Art Institute will be recommending people who want to get in there with the reduced 25% capacity with no more than 50 people per room go online to make a reservation to get in at a certain time. The Lincoln Park Zoo will be requiring such reservations to get in, officials from those beloved local institutions said on a conference call with reporters.

“The service and sacrifice made by Chicagoans from every corner of our city and every walk of life has allowed us to safely reach the point where we are now,” Lightfoot said in a statement. “It includes the incredible work done by our healthcare professionals, first responders, and essential workers who have cared for our residents and kept our city running.”

Deputy Mayor Samir Mayekar said the city expects an additional 200,000 workers to reenter the city’s workforce in phase four.

With Illinois set to move into its next reopening phase on Friday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker also announced guidelines for businesses and activities to move forward, including spectator and youth sports, museums, theaters, zoos and gyms. The rules generally increase public gathering limits from the current 10 people to 50 or limits based on the size of gathering places.

Masks or face coverings will still be required, as will social distancing.

As Chicago’s Lakefront Trail reopened Monday, Lightfoot’s administration also looked ahead to detail the rules for the next step.

Lightfoot has the authority to set stricter rules for Chicago than Pritzker’s statewide framework, but she can’t enact looser ones. That has led to tension over restaurants — Lightfoot has urged Pritzker to allow limited indoor restaurant dining, which the governor has refused.

Arwady had pointed to July 1 as the target date for the city to move into phase four. Termed “revitalization” under Pritzker’s framework for the state reopening, that move would allow nonessential businesses to reopen.

Chicago moved into phase three on June 1, three days after the rest of the state. At that point, nonessential manufacturing and retail were allowed to resume with distancing requirements and other restrictions, and restaurants were allowed to offer outside dining.

Lightfoot unveiled her five-phase guidelines for reopening on May 8. The fifth phase, dubbed “Protect,” would only happen when there’s a vaccine, all businesses can reopen and “non-vulnerable individuals” can resume working, according to Lightfoot and the standards set out by Pritzker.

Before then, Lightfoot on Monday said there may be further loosening of restrictions within phase four.

“For example, right now, while Chicago is still at a moderate-high level of new cases, there is approximately a 15% chance that a gathering of 50 Chicagoans will include someone with active COVID-19 infection. This is concerning because many people may not have symptoms but can still spread COVID-19, which is why keeping a 6-foot distance and wearing a face covering is so important,” the city news release reads in part. “Once Chicago has fewer than 100 new cases per day, the city will move to a moderate-incidence level by national standards, and gathering sizes and capacity limits can more safely increase.”

Under Pritzker’s statewide plan, meeting and venue spaces, including weddings and funerals, can resume with gatherings of up to 50 people or half of overall room capacity. Indoor dining is an exception at 25% of capacity and limited to dining groups of 10 or less with tables spaced 6 feet apart.

Museums and zoos also are limited to the 25% occupancy rule with tours limited to 50 people or fewer while movie theaters and preforming arts centers are limited to 50 guests or half of capacity.

Outdoor spectator sports can resume with no more than 20% of seating capacity and concessions permitted with restrictions.

Pritzker also issued revised rules to allow competitive youth and recreational spots. Venues can operate at half capacity with 20% seating of spectators. Groups of up to 50 may participate in practice and competitive games with social distancing required.

New guidelines allow gyms to open at 50% capacity and allow group fitness classes of up to 50 people.

Water-based activities also will be allowed at day camps, with no more than 50% of facility capacity and group sizes of 15 participants or less.

Pritzker said the state’s move into the new phase will bring approximately 400,000 people back to the workplace across all industries, representing 7% of the state’s workforce. The return will account for an estimated $30 billion in annual GDP, Pritzker’s office said.