Macon Reporter

Gov. J.B. Pritzker has released a new document that explained his Bridge to Phase 5 will slowly allow Illinois to reopen on a metric-based pathway to the final phase of the Restore Illinois reopening plan.

The Bridge to Phase 5 will act like a dial-like manner for the state and establish new capacity limits to be expanded for Phase 4. According to the "Restore Illinois" reopening plan, once Phase 5 is in full effect, all restrictions and limitations throughout the state will be lifted.

"Following recommendations from public health experts, Illinois will move forward with a dial-like approach between the mitigations in Phase 4, which currently applies to the entire state, and the post-pandemic new normal of Phase 5," the Restore Illinois reopening plan document said. "Like the prior evidenced-based approaches to deliberately lift mitigations that have kept us safe and saved lives, this gradual path to Phase 5 will protect the progress we've made while allowing us to reopen the economy."

For Illinois to move forward, the state must meet certain metrics. These benchmarks include 70% of residents 65 and older statewide having received their first dose of the vaccination, 50% of residents 16 and older have received their first dose of the vaccine, no increase in the number of hospital admissions for COVID-19 with ICU bed availability remaining greater or equal to 20% and mortality rate decrease as monitored over a 28-day period.

Illinois state Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) said in a Facebook video that Illinois should open more quickly and used statistics comparing Illinois and Florida for the basis of his beliefs.

"Deaths per million Illinois, 1,832. Deaths per million Florida, 1,507. Now, Florida has an older population, a huge population of older people and a huge tourist industry. This is remarkable; this number is remarkable compared to Illinois," Caulkins said.

In looking at the facts that Florida does have an older population in comparison to Illinois, the state has had more deaths per million than Florida.

"Hospitalizations in December [in] Illinois had about 6,100 people in the hospital a day. Right now in March, a little over 1,100," Caulkins said. "Deaths seven day average in December, we had about 150 people a day die from COVID or COVID-related deaths; March, 28. Cases, seven-day average again, in December we had about 12,000 cases a day of COVID or COVID suspected. March 1,500 cases a day. This indicates we should not be enduring this draconian lockdown,"

He went on to compare that Florida has an unemployment rate of less than 5%, while Illinois has an unemployment rate of 7.7%, and said that many people have not been able to get their unemployment or has had their identity stolen because of Gov. Pritzker still having Illinois on lockdown. Caulkins also stated that the seven-day average of hospitalizations, deaths and cases of COVID-19 have dropped dramatically from December to March in Illinois.