New St. Louis Metro East restrictions end indoor service in restaurants and bars

In an effort to combat the rising COVID numbers in the Metro East, new mitigation requirements went into effect Wednesday, Sept. 2.

Indoor service is no longer allowed at bars and restaurants, and they must close at 11 p.m. each night and cannot reopen until 6 a.m. the following morning. The order also states that there shall be “no standing or congregating indoors or outdoors while waiting for a table or exiting” and that reservations are required. There can only be one party seated at each table. Additionally, bars can no longer allow dancing.

The restrictions are in response to the “region’s positivity rate [that averaged] greater than or equal to 8 percent for three consecutive days ... from Aug. 14 to 16,” according to the order.

“If the positivity rate averages less than or equal to 6.5% over a 14-day period, the region will return to Phase 4 mitigations under the Restore Illinois Plan,” the order states. However, “if the positivity rate averages greater than or equal to 8% after 14 days, more stringent mitigations will be applied to further reduce spread of the virus.”

The Metro East, also known as Region 4 in Illinois, includes Bond, Clinton, Madison, Monroe, Randolph, St. Clair and Washington counties.

For the full order, click here.