City of Chicago Webinar
Hello there!
Today we attended the Mayor’s and the City of Chicago BACP briefing webinar for restaurants, bars and venues. We wanted to share notes for the webinar today.
Fom Mayor Lightfoot:
Unfortunately, the COVID-19 numbers still going up at an alarming spike with
498 new cases today with a 4.5% positivity in the City of Chicago. The rate of rise in cases is worrying for Chicago residents. There has been an emergency room uptick for COVID like cases as well. They are seeing the age group of 18-39 year-olds with the increase in cases and they saw this trend last fall before the November surge which worries them.
They are asking for and relying on venues, bars and restaurants to enforce the guidelines and will be out in the city making sure businesses are doing this. The responsibility lies in the restaurants, bars and venues and they will be giving fines to businesses up to $10,000 if they are not enforcing the guidelines.
Mayor Lightfoot reiterated that the last thing she wants to do is roll back and bring back further mitigations and urges people to please help the city stay safe by enforcing and educating others about the guidelines!
From the BACP:
During their inspections, they are seeing social distancing issues, capacity issues and too many people not wearing masks. Last weekend 7 businesses were cited and over 100 visits were made to busineses. They found 158 people in one room in a River North restaurant. This is not allowed. The maximum number of people in one room is 50% capacity or 50 people, whichever is lesser.
The BACP inspectors are going to be out in full force in the City visiting businesses. They also caution bar owners to stay diligent as baseball returns to Chicago to continue to follow these guidelines. They also reminded buildings and property managers they need to adhere to guidelines in their private spaces.
They reiterated the guidelines for Restaurants, Bars and Venues
Patrons tables should be 6 feet apart
Outdoors: 10 per table allowed
Inside: 6 per table allowed
Patrons must be seated at all times.
Masks must be on when seated and not actively eating or drinking.
No one should be at the bar congregating.
ONLY 50% capacity of 50 people, whichever is lesser, allowed per room
They also reiterated the Social Events Guidelines
Capacity Limits
Lesser of 50% or 50 people indoors
Lesser of 50% or 100 people outdoors
Patrons tables should be 6 feet apart
Outdoors: 10 per table allowed
Inside: 6 per table allowed
Patrons must be seated at all times.
Masks must be on when seated and not actively eating or drinking.
Close all dance floors and other areas where social distancing is not possible.
Event venues must be properly licensed to hold events.
It is up to the bars, restaurants and venues to enforce these rules!!
For the full list of the guidelines please visit here.
Q&A
Will Chicago have a similar Bridge Plan to Illinois?
They are looking at it and do not have a formal plan right now to share.
Do vaccinated people count towards capacity in Chicago?
Yes, in Chicago, vaccinated people do count towards the capacity limits at this time.
Will people who test negative 1-3 days prior for COVID-19 count towards capacity limits?
Yes, in Chicago, people testing negative 1-3 says prior will count towards the capacity limits at this time.
The BACP encourages people to reach out if they have any questions to them.
For questions email:
BACPoutreach@cityofchicago.org
Stay safe!!
Ali, Michelle and Collin