VILLA PARK CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) UPDATES
The health and safety of Villa Park residents and employees is the Village’s highest priority. Villa Park is committed to effective communication throughout the new challenges the COVID-19 pandemic brings. The COVID-19 outbreak is a rapidly evolving situation with new information becoming available every day. The information here is based upon the latest information available but remains subject to change. We encourage residents to follow the Village’s social media sites: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to learn more information about the changes to Village operations. We encourage residents to sign up for our CodeRED notification system for emergency notifications. Text "VILLAPARK" to 99411.
November 17, 2020: Tier 3 mitigations
With a new wave of COVID-19 surging across the state of Illinois and the nation, the state is committed to listening to public health experts and following the science to keep people safe. Tier 3 builds on the Resurgence Mitigation Plan first released in July to suppress the spread of the virus and ensure our hospitals do not become overrun. This new tier aims to limit gatherings and encourages people to stay home to the greatest extent possible, while permitting some industries to remain open at significantly reduced capacities with proper safety measures in place. All detailed Phase 4 operational guidance remains in effect. Where Phase 4 guidance and Tier 3 Mitigations imply different standards, the more restrictive Tier 3 Mitigations will apply.
With COVID-19 spread now exponential in every region of the state, our statewide positivity rate at record highs and hospitalizations already surpassing our Spring peak, all 11 regions will move into Tier 3 effective Friday, November 20, 2020 at 12:01am.
The new mitigation requirements to combat the surge of COVID-19 across Illinois are as follows:
Bars and Restaurants-
- All bars and restaurants close at 11pm and may reopen no earlier than 6am the following day
- No indoor service
- All bar and restaurant patrons should be seated at tables outside
- No ordering, seating, or congregating at bar (bar stools should be removed)
- Tables should be 6 feet apart
- No standing or congregating outdoors while waiting for a table or exiting
- No dancing or standing indoors
- No tables exceeding 6 people
- Reservations required for each party
- No seating of multiple parties at one table
- Indoor gaming terminals must suspend operations
- Includes private clubs and country clubs
Health and fitness centers-
- Operate at no more than 25% capacity
- No indoor group classes
- Face coverings must be worn at all times, including while engaged in individual exercise regardless of person or machine spacing
- Reservations required
- Locker room areas should be closed
Hotels-
- Hotel room occupancy should be limited to registered guests only, with the maximum allowance being the number of individuals permissible per existing fire code for each applicable guest room
- Fitness centers should be closed, or operated only on a reservation model with capacity limited to 25% of the maximum occupancy for the room
- Grab and go food allowed
- Event and meeting space closed
Indoor recreation, theaters, cultural institutions (e.g. casinos, bowling, arcades, movie theaters, museums and zoos)
- Gaming and casinos close
- Indoor recreation centers, including theaters, performing arts centers and indoor museums and amusement centers, close
- Live streaming of performances encouraged with social distancing of performers and minimum operational staff
- Outdoor activities allowed at 25% capacity or less
- Outdoor group activities limited to 10 persons or less, participants/guests must wear face coverings at all times
- Reservations required for each guest for outdoor activities
Manufacturing
- Additional COVID training for all employees required even if previous training occurred
- Operators should coordinate with IDPH to implement testing protocols and contact tracing, upon request, consistent with available testing supplies
- All employees must wear face coverings at all times unless eating or drinking. Exemptions only for safety purposes
- Only manufacturing staff and key personnel allowed in facilities. Non-production employees must work remotely. Non-essential staff and visitors are not permitted. Exemptions only for critical equipment repairs, supply deliveries and safety reasons (“critical visitors”)
- All critical visitors must have an Employee Health and Safety (EHS)-approved risk-assessment done in advance, including travel history, tracking, and temperature check prior to entrance
- Implement additional workstation realignment when feasible
- Stagger and space shifts, and designate shift entrances and exits (when possible) to minimize interactions of employees across unique shift groupings
- Station sanitation required at beginning and ending of shifts
- Operators must suspend COVID-related incentive pay and promote staying home when sick or showing symptoms
- Implement temporary leave policies to accommodate workers who are sick
- Develop and implement safety protocols for employee travel vans to promote spacing, require face coverings, temperature checks, air circulation, and vehicle sanitization
Meetings, social events and gatherings (including weddings, potlucks, etc.)-
- Limit in home gatherings to household members
- Meeting rooms, banquet centers, private party rooms, private clubs and country clubs may not host gatherings
- No party buses
- Funerals are limited to 10 family members of the decedents, not including staff
Office-
- All employees who can work remotely should work remotely
Organized group recreational activities (sports, indoor sports and activity facilities, etc.)-
- Pause all indoor group sporting and recreational activities including youth and adult recreational sports, individual training may remain (with facility reservation)
- Includes park districts and travel leagues
- Outdoor sports and recreation allowed
- Participant groups and practices outdoors limited to 10 persons or less with social distancing
- Face coverings required for all activities at all times
- Locker rooms should be closed
Personal Care Service-
- Operate at lesser of 25 clients or 25% capacity
- Face coverings must be worn at all times by clients and service providers
- Suspend services where a face covering cannot be worn (e.g. facials, beard
trims)
Physical, occupational and massage therapy allowed as deemed necessary by a medical provider, but appointments must be spaced by a minimum of 15 minutes and facilities should take steps to sanitize and circulate clean air through service rooms before and after each service
Virtual consultations recommended
Retail-
- Operate at no more than 25% capacity, including general merchandise stores, "big box" stores that offer groceries and pharmacy, and convenience stores
- Grocery stores and pharmacies may operate at up to 50% capacity
- Encourage delivery or curbside pickup options wherever possible
- When in-store shopping is necessary, promote efficient trips and consistent circulation
The provisions above apply to industries/sectors with Restore Illinois Phase 4 guidance or other mitigations. Other functions (i.e. infrastructure, governments, logistics and warehousing, etc.) that previously have not been subject to specific guidance may continue regular operations but are encouraged to voluntarily take proactive steps to support new mitigation strategies wherever possible. In these areas, customer serving functions should be limited to 25% capacity, aligned with retail mitigations, and maximize work from home wherever possible.
IDPH will continue to track the positivity rates and hospital capacity metrics in regions over 14-day monitoring periods to determine if mitigations can be relaxed, if additional mitigations are required, or if current mitigation should remain in place. In order for a region to move back to Tier 2 mitigations, a region must experience less than 12% 7-day average test positivity rate for three consecutive days AND greater than 20% available intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital bed availability for three consecutive days AND declining 7-day average COVID hospitalizations for 7 out of the last 10 days.
Follow the latest regional metrics at: https://dph.illinois.gov/regionmetrics.
November 11, 2020: tier 2 mitigations
Due to a sustained resurgence of COVID-19, Tier 2 mitigations will take effect on Wednesday, November 11, 2020. As detailed in the July 15 Restore Illinois resurgence plan, Tier 2 mitigations may be applied if a region’s positivity rate remains above the 8 percent positivity threshold after 14 days under Tier 1 mitigations. As a result of increased COVID-19 spread and increased positivity rates, heightened mitigation measures will be put into place for Region 8, which encompasses all of Kane and DuPage County, including Villa Park. If a region continues to experience a sustained resurgence of COVID-19 after 14 days with Tier 2 mitigations in place, stricter measures may be necessary to curtail further spread.
What to Expect:
Mitigation efforts will be put into place to reduce the increased spread of COVID-19. Region 8 will be required to adhere to Tier 2 mitigation measures, as determined by the Illinois Department of Public Health. These include the following restrictions:
Bars-
- All bars close at 11pm and may reopen no earlier than 6am the following day
- No indoor service
- All bar patrons should be seated at tables outside
- No ordering, seating, or congregating at bar (bar stools should be removed)
- Tables should be 6 feet apart
- No standing or congregating indoors or outdoors while waiting for a table or exiting
- No dancing or standing indoors
- Reservations required for each party
- No seating of multiple parties at one table
- No tables exceeding 6 people
Restaurants-
- All restaurants close at 11pm and may reopen no earlier than 6am the following day
- No indoor dining or bar service
- Tables should be 6 feet apart
- No standing or congregating indoors or outdoors while waiting for a table or exiting
- Reservations required for each party
- No seating of multiple parties at one table
- No tables exceeding 6 people
Meetings, social events and gatherings-
- Limit to 10 guests in both indoor and outdoor settings *
- Applicable to professional, cultural and social group gatherings.
- Not applicable to students participating in-person classroom learning, sports or polling places.
- This does not reduce the overall facility capacity dictated by general business guidance such as office, retail, etc.
- No party buses
- Gaming and Casinos close at 11:00pm, are limited to 25 percent capacity, and follow mitigations for bars and restaurants, if applicable
Organized group recreational activities (including sports, but excluding fitness centers)-
- Limit to lesser of 25 guests or 25% of overall room capacity both indoors & outdoors *
- Groups limited to 10 or fewer people
- All Sports Guidance effective August 15, 2020, remains in effect
- Outdoor Activities (not included in the above exposure settings) continue per current DCEO guidance
In addition, IDPH recommends the following actions be taken:
- Display prominent masking and distancing signage
- Discourage non-essential travel to other states and international locations
- Discourage groups greater than 4 individuals in ages 12 -17 from congregating outside of school
- Promote work from home when possible
IDPH will continue to track the positivity rate in regions requiring additional mitigations over a 14-day monitoring period to determine if mitigations can be relaxed, if additional mitigations are required, or if current mitigation should remain in place. If the positivity rate averages less than or equal to 6.5 percent over a 3-day period, the region will return to Phase 4 mitigations under the Restore Illinois Plan. If the positivity rate averages between 6.5 percent and 8 percent, IDPH will continue to monitor the region to determine if additional mitigations are needed. If the positivity rate averages greater than or equal to 8 percent after 14 days, more stringent mitigations may be applied to further reduce spread of the virus, which could include reducing capacity on organized group recreation, fitness or other activities supported by local contact tracing and outbreak data and temporary suspension of certain activities.
Follow the latest regional metrics at: https://dph.illinois.gov/regionmetrics.
For more information on guidance for businesses, please visit the FAQ on DCEO's website.
October 20, 2020: Phase Four
Increased Mitigation Measures to Begin for Region 8
Today, Region 8 surpassed the Illinois Department of Public Health’s COVID-19’s threshold of 8% test positivity 7-day rolling average or for three or more consecutive days. As a result of increased COVID-19 spread and increased positivity rates, heightened mitigation measures will be put into place for Region 8, which encompasses all of Kane and DuPage County, including Villa Park, beginning 12:01 a.m. on Friday, October 23, 2020.
What to Expect:
Mitigation efforts will be put into place to reduce the increased spread of COVID-19. Region 8 will be required to adhere to Tier 1 mitigation measures, as determined by the Illinois Department of Public Health. These include the following restrictions:
Bars
- No indoor service
- All outside bar service closes at 11 p.m.
- All bar patrons should be seated at tables outside
- No ordering, seating, or congregating at bar (bar stools should be removed)
- Tables should be 6 feet apart
- No standing or congregating indoors or outdoors while waiting for a table or exiting
- No dancing or standing indoors
- Reservations required for each party
- No seating of multiple parties at one table
Meetings, Social Events, Gatherings
- Limit to lesser of 25 guests or 25% of overall room capacity
- No party buses
- Gaming and casinos close at 11 p.m., are limited to 25 percent capacity, and follow mitigations for bars and restaurants, if applicable
- Restaurants
- No indoor dining or bar service
- All outdoor dining closes at 11 p.m.
- Outside dining tables should be 6 feet apart
- No standing or congregating indoors or outdoors while waiting for a table or exiting
- Reservations required for each party
- No seating of multiple parties at one table
Returning to Phase 4 Requires Decrease in Positivity Rates
In order to return to Phase 4, COVID-19 positivity rate averages must be less than or equal to 6.5% over a 3-day period. If the positivity rate averages between 6.5% - 8% the IDPH will continue to monitor the region to determine if additional mitigations are needed.
If the positivity rate averages are greater than or equal to 8% after 14 days, more stringent mitigations may be applied to further reduce the spread of the virus.
How You Can Help: Take Action Against COVID-19
Mitigation measures are based on COVID-19 positivity rates. To help reduce mitigation measures, the spread of COVID-19 must decrease. You can help support your local businesses by acting responsibly to slow the spread of illness, by following the below guidance from the CDC:
- Maintain a 6 feet social distance minimum.
- Wear a face mask when in public.
- Wash your hands often with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds.
- Clean and sanitize commonly used surfaces.
- Quarantine for 14 days if returning from a COVID-19 hotspot.
- Avoid group gatherings.
- Stay home when you are sick or experiencing symptoms of respiratory illness with fever, cough, or difficulty breathing.
- Get tested: DuPage County Testing Site - https://www.dupagehealth.org/601/COVID-19-Testing
- Avoid contact with others that are sick or experiencing COVID-19 like symptoms.
- Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
Local COVID-19 Updates from IDPH and DuPage County Health Department
The DuPage County Health Department COVID-19 dashboard, shows the number of lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases in each municipality. As of Wednesday, October 21, 2020, there have been a total of 616 confirmed cases in Villa Park. To view the DuPage County Health Department's COVID-19 Dashboard, click here.
IHDA EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE & MORTGAGE ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS
Are you struggling to pay your mortgage due to COVID-19? The Illinois Housing Development Authority has launched an emergency assistance program to support individuals who have fallen behind on rental payments because of job or income losses correlated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Individuals are selected via a lottery process and will obtain grant funding worth $5,000, paid directly to their landlords.