Governor’s Office Daily COVID-19 Q & A
May 18, 2020
Restore Illinois
Q: What is the rationale for barbershops opening in phase 3, but restaurants needing to wait until phase 4 to open?
A: Less difficulties will be presented when limiting close personal contact in barbershops and salons with strict distancing, PPE, and capacity limit guidance, whereas there will necessarily be more potential contacts in restaurants. Please continue to check the Illinois Department of Public Health (DPH) website to determine which phase your region is in https://www.dph.illinois.gov/restore.
Q: When can unrestricted child care be allowed to resume? A: The Restore Illinois plan requires restrictions to be in place in child care settings in phases 1-4. In phase 5, COVID-19 related restrictions will be lifted on child care providers. Information about child care for families and providers can be found on this website https://www2.illinois.gov/sites/OECD/Documents/Emergency%20Child%20Care%20FAQs%20200511_final.pdf. Child care centers are currently able to reopen with an emergency child care license and group size limits, and child care homes are able to serve up to 6 children. Additional guidance for child care for Phases 3 and 4 is currently being developed, and will require appropriate group sizes that allow for social distancing and other critical health and safety measures. Please continue to check the DPH website to determine which phase your region is in https://www.dph.illinois.gov/restore.
Contact Tracing
Q: Governor Pritzker announced the state will be making significant investments in personnel and other resources to provide contact tracing. If individuals are interested in applying for available jobs, what site do they visit to learn more?
A: As part of the continuing effort to combat the COVID-19 pandemic the State of Illinois is beginning the process of standing up a massive contact tracing operation. Hiring will be done through local health departments and community based organizations (CBO); not at the state level through DPH. Once the program is finalized, those entities and the Administration will alert stakeholders and legislators. In the meantime, any individual who would like to express their interest in working as a contact tracer through a local health department or CBO may register that interest at https://redcap.dph.illinois.gov/surveys/?s=KWKJL93TM7