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Customers cover their mouths to order at the Red Barrel restaurant near Midway Airport. Credit: Chicago Mayor's Office

CHICAGO — The city will move into Phase 4 of reopening amid coronavirus Friday, officials announced Monday morning.

During Phase 4, restaurants and bars can reopen for indoor dining — a move Mayor Lori Lightfoot said last week the city will take. Schools can reopen, as well, and people will be allowed to gather in groups of 50 or fewer indoors or 100 people or fewer outdoors.

Here’s what can return In Phase 4:

  • Indoor seating in bars and restaurants
  • Movie theaters
  • Museums and zoos
  • Performance venues
  • Summer camps/youth activities

Other industries that have already opened on a limited basis will be able to expand their work. For example, gyms will will be able to have people work out indoors, though they will have to wear masks, stay 6 feet apart and there will be capacity limits.

Bars and restaurants are encouraged to continue to prioritize patio service. Indoors, they can only operate at 25 percent capacity with a cap of 50 people.

There will be capacity limits for other industries, but even those could be loosened up during the course of Phase 4 as Chicago sees fewer new cases of coronavirus, according to a Mayor’s Office press release.

And newly opened places will have unique restrictions; for example, museums must temporarily stop group tours and will require visitors to wear face coverings, according to the city’s rules.

People should continue to wear face coverings, practice social distancing, stay home if they feel sick and get tested if they have symptoms of coronavirus, the city said. People who are vulnerable to coronavirus — like those who are older or have underlying health conditions — should stay home, the city said.

“The data continue to show that we’re making progress and we’ll be ready to move into phase four later this week,” said Dr. Allison Arwady, head of the Chicago Department of Public Health, in the press release. “However, we still have a lot of COVID-19 cases here in Chicago … .

“I can’t emphasize enough the need for people and businesses to continue to abide by the public health guidance so we can avoid the spike in cases we’re seeing in other cities and states that reopened before us.”

Lightfoot is expected to share more details during a 1:30 p.m. press conference.

Chicago has been seeing drops in its number of new confirmed cases, hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19.

In all, the city has now seen 50,287 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 2,485 people have died.

Phase 4 is the penultimate stage of Gov. JB Pritzker’s five-part plan for reopening Illinois. Pritzker previously said Phase 4 is when Illinoisans will be “rebuilding what school and work will look like” until a vaccine or treatment is developed.

The city and state won’t move into Phase 5 of the plan until there’s a vaccine or widespread, effective treatment, which is not expected for months.

Block Club Chicago’s coronavirus coverage is free for all readers. Block Club is an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom.

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