Credit Capitol News Illinois
Only one of the state’s 11 COVID-19 mitigation regions remains at the highest level of restricted activity Thursday, Jan. 21, as the statewide case positivity rate continues to decline.
The Illinois Department of Public Health announced Thursday that Region 7, which includes Will and Kankakee counties, was moved to Tier 1 mitigations, while Region 6 in east-central Illinois moved back to base Phase 4 guidelines.
That left only Region 4 in the Metro East region near the St. Louis, Missouri, border in the strictest Tier 3 mitigations.
“I am excited that 10 out of our 11 regions have moved out of Tier 3 mitigations,” IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said in a news release. “However, this does not mean we can let our guard down. We must continue to practice actions to protect ourselves from the virus – wear our masks, avoid large gatherings, and get the vaccine when it is our turn. This is particularly critical as new variants circulate, which early studies show spread much more rapidly. We are headed in the right direction once again, so let’s stay the course.”