Chicago, Cook County Announce 50 People Per Room Allowed, Path to Expanded Occupancy
Moments ago, city of Chicago and Cook County officials announced that indoor service at restaurants, bars, and events in Chicago and suburban Cook County is allowed at 25% occupancy or 50 people per room (whichever is less), effective Thursday, February 11. The previous maximum number of diners allowed was 25 per room. The city and county also announced the path forward to reopening restaurants, bars, and events with greater capacities in the near future.
In order to expand indoor dining capacity to 40% occupancy, Chicago will need to reach “Moderate-Risk” or better in four categories for at least three straight days: COVID cases diagnosed per day, COVID test positivity, Emergency Department visits for COVID-like illness and total number of ICU beds occupied by COVID patients.
Assuming that the other metrics continue to improve or hold steady, moving to 40% occupancy will be possible once Chicago reaches fewer than 400 COVID-19 cases per day, based on the 7-day rolling average, for at least three straight days. Currently, Chicago is averaging 466 new cases per day, down from 607 one week ago.
Expansion to 50% capacity will then be possible if and when Chicago reaches “Moderate-Risk” in all four metrics and maintains those levels for a period of two weeks (one incubation period).
Click here to review current regulations in the city of Chicago. Click here to review current regulations in Cook County.
The IRA has been advocating tirelessly for Chicago and Cook County restaurants, bars, and event venues to be able to serve more diners safely indoors, and we appreciate Mayor Lightfoot and President Preckwinkle’s continued dialogue and action on this issue. Today’s announcement comes at a critical time, and is another step towards recovery.
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Ask Congress to Co-Sponsor Unified RESTAURANTS Act of 2021
A unified RESTAURANTS Act that will help hundreds thousands of restaurants is finally here, but we need your help to push it over the edge.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) are likely to include the text of this plan in their upcoming COVID relief bill. You’ll hear more from us later on that, but for now, we need the RESTAURANTS Act to have as many bipartisan cosponsors as possible to demonstrate the immediate urgency of saving the restaurant industry.
Click here to take 10 seconds to ask Illinois Congressional delegation to save restaurants by cosponsoring the unified RESTAURANTS Act of 2021.
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Webinar Tomorrow - Vaccines in the the Restaurant Workplace
On Thursday, February 11 at 2:00 p.m. (Central) the Restaurant Law Center (RLC) will host a free webinar on “Taking a Shot at COVID-19: What Restaurants Need to Know About Vaccinating their Workforce.”
The webinar will explore legal and practical issues for the restaurant industry ranging from mandatory vaccinations and reasonable accommodations to workers’ compensation implications and policies that restaurants should implement.
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Closing Today - COVID-19 Restaurant Impact Survey
The IRA is partnering with the National Restaurant Association to gather critical data that will be very valuable to our ongoing advocacy and communications efforts during this crisis.
If you haven't already done so, please take two minutes to complete this new coronavirus restaurant impact survey.
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Southwest Collective Restaurant Initiative - Partners Wanted |
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Southwest Collective (SWC) is looking to feed the community and stimulate the small business economy in the Midway area.
Through a partnership with Project 22NINE, SWC will be bringing high quality, individual meals to residents in need once a week. The program requires this volunteer group to parcel out the meals, and for that, they're in need of a kitchen space and culinary professionals to help.
They are seeking funds to pay for this help, as well as restaurants willing to participate and earn some extra funds.
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2021 IRA Virtual Annual Meeting - Register Now |
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Registration is open for the IRA's 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting on Thursday, February 25 at 3:00 p.m. (Central). The meeting is complementary to attend, and is open to all restaurant and hospitality professionals and service providers to the industry.
In addition to industry updates and an outlook for the year, the meeting will include the approval of the 2021 slate of Officers, Board of Directors and Advisory Council, and honors for the 2020 Industry Award winners.
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Please visit our website for the latest COVID-19 updates, in addition to the above resources and information for your business. Updated as of 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 10.
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THANK YOU TO OUR CORPORATE SPONSORS |
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