To:

Chemical Industry Council of Illinois (CICI) Members

From:

Mark Biel, Chief Executive Officer
[email protected] or 217/522-5805 

Re:

Coronavirus (COVID-19) – Guidance Issued for Friday’s Phase 5 Full Re-Opening; Update on Vaccinations; ACC Tracker with State Vaccine Updates & COVID-19 Orders; Canada COVID-19 Information; Update on COVID-19 Cases

Guidance Issued for Friday’s Phase 5 Full Re-Opening: With positivity rates the lowest since the pandemic began, Illinois is well on track to go into a full Phase 5 re-opening this Friday as scheduled. As such the Pritzker Administration has released these guidelines for businesses and venues to take effect this Friday. 

Upon entering Phase 5 this Friday, fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance. The state will continue to recommend masking for unvaccinated persons, and require it for all people while traveling on public transportation, in congregate settings, in health care settings, as well as in schools, day cares, and educational institutions pursuant to the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and CDC guidance. Businesses and local municipalities can put in place additional mitigations as they deem appropriate.  In addition, the guidance for schools is updated to align with the CDC guidelines, including lifting the requirement for individuals to mask outdoors in most situations.

Under Phase 5, all sectors of the economy can resume at regular capacity. Phase 5 also marks the return of traditional conventions, festivals, and large events without capacity restrictions. Large gatherings of all sizes can resume across all industry settings, and Phase 5 removes requirements that businesses institute mandatory social distancing in seated venues as well as daily health screenings of employees and visitors. Businesses and venues should continue to allow for social distancing to the extent possible, especially indoors. Businesses and venues may also continue to put in place additional public health mitigations as they deem appropriate, including requiring face coverings.

Update on Vaccinations: A total of 11,759,105 vaccines have been administered in Illinois. The average number of vaccines administered daily is 45,852. As of yesterday, 50,231 doses were administered in the state.

According to the state’s vaccine administration data, 44.26% of the state’s overall population, have been fully vaccinated with DuPage County leading the state with almost 52% of its population fully vaccinated.

Here’s how the rest of the state’s population by age groups ranks in terms of vaccinations:

  • 12 years of age and older – 50.8% fully vaccinated; 60% one dose administered
  • 18 years of age and older – 54.3% fully vaccinated; 62.7% one dose administered
  • 65 years of age and older – 76.3% fully vaccinated; 82.3% one dose administered    

Additionally, the state has updated its COVID-19 website containing current locations and other pertinent information on one webpage.

ACC Tracker with State Vaccine Updates & COVID-19 Orders:  The American Chemistry Council (ACC) has again updated its comprehensive COVID-19 Tracker (attached to this Update) with separate charts illustrating state vaccine plans, including documents detailing updated state specific orders and mitigation measures as well as executive orders and legislation relating to business liability. 

Canada COVID-19 Information: For those members who would like to receive information about vaccination protocols and COVID-19 restrictions in Canada, please reach out to Mark Biel at [email protected] to be added to the distribution list. Our friends at the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada have been kind enough to share their COVID-19 information with us.  In addition, here is Canada's COVID-19 immunization plan.  

Update on COVID-19 Cases: IDPH is reporting 1,386,262 positive tests of COVID-19 in Illinois, an average increase of only 456 new positive tests per day since reported here 7 days ago on June 2.  In total, 24,991,516 tests have now been conducted in Illinois for the virus, an average increase of 45,065 per day since June 2. 

The state’s average positivity rate over all 11 regions is at 1% for the last 7 days, which, again, is the lowest positivity rate the state has witness since the pandemic began.  You can see where the various regions are at in terms of their positivity rates, hospitalizations, and other metrics at this link

Unfortunately, IDPH is reporting a total of 22,997 deaths, an average increase of 22 per day since June 2.

You can also check where these cases are occurring at the State of Illinois COVID-19 website which also contains more information on this outbreak.

Also, IDPH has a case breakdown of the number of positive cases in Chicago and each county relative to the number of fatalities.  The IDPH website also now includes a breakdown of the cases under each zip code in the state.

For information on other states and countries, John Hopkins University has developed this website that provides invaluable resources at a one-stop location detailing testing and tracing trends, timelines of COVID-19 policies, vaccinations, and interactive maps.

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