City aims to curb the spread of COVID-19 over holiday weekend

City aims to curb the spread of COVID-19 over holiday weekend

With the upcoming Fourth of July weekend, Mayor Lori Lightfoot wants to remind bar operators they could be fined up to $10,000 for not following the guidelines which have been laid out in webinars and training sessions prior to this.

CHICAGO - People packed bars on Clark Street in Wrigleyville last weekeend, the first weekend of Phase 4 in Chicago.

Capacity is supposed to be limited, however, people were bar-hopping in large groups, walking from bar to bar. Some were wearing masks while some were not.

Phase 3, which went into effect June 3, allowed for patios to reopen for the first time with restrictions. Since then, the city has received 764 complaints about businesses not being in compliance with the rules.

With the upcoming Fourth of July weekend, Mayor Lori Lightfoot is reminding bar operators they could be fined up to $10,000 for not following the guidelines which have been laid out in webinars and training sessions prior to this.

"We still are seeing people every single day die from COVID and we're still seeing cases, new cases. That's a reality," Lightfoot said. "So what do we need to do to make sure we continue trending in the right direction? We need to make sure that we wear face coverings in public. It makes a difference. It will save lives. We need to continue social-distancing in public. And in other spaces where we can't easily social distance, you need to avoid those."

Under Phase 4, restaurants and businesses are limited to 25-percent of what their normal indoor capacity is, or 50 people, whichever is fewer.

They also must stop serving alcohol by 11 p.m. each night.