On Monday, June 22, 2020, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker released Phase 4 Guidelines for Reopening Businesses (the “Guidelines”) across Illinois. The Guidelines will commence on June 26, 2020. Phase 4 Guidelines include five (5) new industry categories and updated recommendations for the existing categories from Phase 3.
The Guidelines cover the following fifteen (15) industries:
- Meetings and Social Events;
- Indoor and Outdoor Recreation;
- Indoor and Outdoor Dining;
- Museums;
- Zoos;
- Theaters and Performing Arts;
- Youth and Recreation Sports;
- Film Production;
- Manufacturing;
- Offices;
- Retail;
- Service Counters;
- Health and Fitness Centers;
- Personal Care Services; and
- Day Camps.
To prepare businesses and employers to implement new and updated safety guidelines in Phase 4, the State of Illinois developed a business toolkit with signage, posters, and other resources to ensure businesses and activities are conducted in accordance with the latest public health recommendations. Social distancing, hand washing, wearing masks, taking temperatures, and capacity limitations are all part of the new Guidelines.
The following is an overview of the new Guidelines:
- Meetings and Social Events: Venues and meeting spaces can resume with the lesser of up to 50 people, or 50% of overall room capacity. Multiple groups are permitted given facilities have space to appropriately social distance and can limit interaction between groups. This includes activities such as conferences and weddings.
- Indoor and Outdoor Recreation: Revised Guidelines to allow select indoor recreation facilities (e.g. bowling alleys, skating rinks, etc.) to reopen. Indoor recreation is permitted to operate at the lesser of 50 customers, or 50% of facility capacity with outdoor recreation allowing group sizes of up to 50, and permitting multiple groups given facilities have space to appropriately social distance and can limit interaction between groups.
- Indoor Dining: Indoor dining can reopen with groups of ten (10) or less, with tables spaced 6-feet apart in seated areas and with standing areas at no more than 25% of capacity.
- Museums: Can reopen with no more than 25% occupancy, and with interactive exhibits and rides closed; guided tours should be limited to 50 people or fewer per group; museums should have a plan to limit congregation via advance ticket sales and timed ticketing; and concessions permitted with restrictions.
- Zoos: Can reopen with no more than 25% occupancy, and with interactive exhibits, indoor exhibits, and rides closed; guided tours should be limited to 50 people or fewer per group; zoos should have a plan to limit congregation via advance ticket sales and timed ticketing; and concessions permitted with restrictions.
- Theaters and Performing Arts: Indoor seated theaters, cinemas, and performing arts centers to allow admission of the lesser of up to 50 guests, or 50% of overall theater or performance space capacity (applies to each screening room); outdoor capacity limited to 20% of overall theater or performance space capacity; and concessions permitted with restrictions.
- Film Production: Allow no more than 50% of sound stage or filming location capacity, and crowd scenes should be limited to 50 people or fewer.
- Youth and Recreational Sports: Revised guidelines allow competitive gameplay and tournaments; youth and recreational sports venues can operate at 50% of facility capacity, 20% seating capacity for spectators, and group sizes up to 50 with multiple groups permitted during practice and competitive games given venues have space to appropriately social distance and can limit interaction between groups; and concessions permitted with restrictions. Outdoor spectator sports can resume with no more than 20% of seating capacity.
- Health and Fitness Centers: Revised guidelines allow gyms to open at 50% capacity and allow group fitness classes of up to 50 people with new safety guidelines for indoors, with multiple groups permitted given facilities have space to appropriately social distance and can limit interaction between groups.
- Day Camps: No more than 50% of facility capacity with a group size of no more than 15 participants in a group, unless participants changing weekly.
Additionally, retail, service counters, offices, personal care (including salons, barbers, and nail salons), manufacturing and other industries were allowed to reopen in Phase 3 and will continue to operate at a reduced capacity.
We will continue to monitor the business reopening plans both locally and at the state level and will provide updates when warranted. Please contact us with any questions you may have. We are here to help you make it through these challenging times.
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