The Village of Oak Park | 123 Madison St.  Oak Park, IL 60302 | village@oak-park.us

Main menu

STAY CONNECTED

Residents urged to stay home if possible per state recommendations

Update: New state restrictions go into effect

Nov. 18, 2020 - New restrictions are set to go into effect Friday to help slow the spread of COVID-19, including reducing capacity in retail stores and prohibiting group fitness classes.

Stopping short of an official lockdown, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the Tier 3 Mitigations boil down to "if you don't need to do it, don't."

Under the new restrictions, gyms may remain open, but reservations will be required and no group classes allowed. Theaters also will be closed.

Groceries and pharmacies will be allowed 50 percent capacity, while general merchandise and big-box stores will be limited to 25 percent capacity

Restaurants will still be able to serve meals outside, and the decision to continue in-person teaching will be up to local school districts and operators of private and parochial schools. Read the state news release on the new restrictions...

***

Nov. 13, 2020 – With the number of positive COVID-19 cases rising rapidly, Oak Park’s Interim Public Health Director Joseph Terry is urging residents to follow the state’s latest recommendations to only leave one’s home when necessary and not to attend gatherings that mix households.

For at least the next three weeks, the Illinois Department of Public Health is recommending that people work from home when possible and only leave for activities such as testing, visiting the pharmacy and buying groceries.

Public health officials also are advising against attending even small gatherings that mix households, or traveling to areas that are experiencing high rates of positivity, going so far as to call such activities potentially dangerous.

“The growing number of cases is a warning that we, as individuals, must take personal responsibility to help slow the spread of COVID-19 or risk overwhelming our health care systems,” Terry said. “Right now the state is only making recommendations, but if things don’t improve soon more drastic measures such as a state-mandated lockdown become increasingly likely.”

Terry’s call for the community to follow the state’s latest recommendations come as the daily reported number of Oak Park residents testing positive for COVID-19 are the highest since the first case was reported here on March 18. Through Wednesday, more than 1,200 residents had tested positive and 35 residents who had tested positive have died, numbers that could grow when the latest data is released later today.

“The risks we are facing right here in Oak Park can’t be overstated,” Terry said. “But we still can get a handle on the situation if we work together. My family and I are struggling, too, but I know we have to stay strong to slow the spread of COVID-19 until a vaccine becomes widely available.”

Terry said the Oak Park Department of Public Health will continue to closely monitor the situation, including in long-term-care facilities where many of the community’s most vulnerable residents live.

Local testing status bulletins and other related information are posted regularly at www.oak-park.us/covid19. The Illinois Department of Public Health also posts a wide range of COVID-19-related statistical data by zip code online - click here to view.

Answers to questions about COVID-19 are available by calling the state hotline 1.800.889.3931 or by email to dph.sick@illinois.gov.