EDWARDSVILLE - The City of Edwardsville announced Friday afternoon it will re-open city-owned buildings for normal business hours on Monday January 25, 2021, following the announcement from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) that Region 4, which includes Bond, Clinton, Madison, Monroe, Randolph, St. Clair, Washington counties has moved to Tier 2 mitigations.
Tier 2 mitigations allow for meetings, social events and gatherings in groups up to 10 people in both indoor and outdoor settings.
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Beginning Monday city-owned buildings including the City Hall, Public Works and the Library will be open to the public. Masks, social distancing and hand sanitization continue to be required. Anyone without a prohibitive medical condition should wear a mask, maintain social distancing of a least 6 feet whenever possible, and sanitize hands prior to entry into any city-owned building.
Edwardsville Fire Department Chief James Whiteford said mask wearing, keeping six feet apart and proper sanitizing are the keys moving into Tier 2 to continue the downward trend of COVID-19 cases. Whiteford added that he thought many of the city employees will be glad to return to a slight sense of normalcy with city buildings open again.
Other Tier 2 mitigations include, recreation and sporting facilities limited to lesser of 25 guests or 25 percent of overall room capacity both indoors and outdoors. No groups of more than 10, including fitness classes, but multiple groups are allowed if separated by impermeable barriers and within overall facility capacity limits. Face coverings must be worn at all times in fitness centers, including while engaged in individual exercise regardless of person or machine spacing.
Bars and restaurants continue to be limited to carry out and outdoor dining with table spacing and guest limitations.
Whiteford said from his view, many around the region are seeing the importance of complying with COVID-19 safety precautions.
“With the arrival of some new COVID-19 variants, continuing to wear masks, social distance, etc., could be a game changer,” he said. “The potential is out there for the outbreak to increase again and there could be another wave that hits. We want people to continue to protect themselves, use precautions and hopefully a lot will soon get vaccinated. This is not a time to let your guard down.”
