BELLEVILLE, Illinois — The state of Illinois no longer has any COVID-19 restrictions in place. All business capacity limits were lifted Friday.
Still, it’s a mixed bag in Illinois. Some residents are hugely relieved. Others remain cautious.
Friday morning, Belleville city crews removed barriers that were put in place months ago off of Main Street to give restaurants more room for outdoor dining.
“Within our downtown area today we’re taking down the barricades, making some people very happy and some people not too happy," Mayor Patty Gregory said. "Those barricades provided us with the opportunity to do our outdoor dining areas. But we do have our retailers here, also. And we have our citizens who like traveling around and not having to take detours.”
Meanwhile, at Mariachi's Mexican Restaurant assistant manager Freddy Ruiz said customer preference for mask-wearing and social distancing, along with regular sanitizing, will remain in effect. Mariachi's can talk about the possibility of a lunch rush, once again.
“We’ve actually been busier this past week,” said Ruiz. “Wednesday we had one of our busiest mornings in quite a while.”
When a 5 On Your Side reporter approached Belleville resident Jennifer Mason and her two children in the parking lot of the YMCA, she immediately put her mask on.
“I’m still a little skeptical,” said Mason. “Some people are vaccinated; some people are not. You just don’t know.”
Belleville resident Judy Hopper said, “I’m loving it. I can see smiles on people’s faces and that makes me happy.”
Mary Ellen Zaksas-Keirle, of Swansea, said, “I will probably still wear a mask in some social situations just to make sure I’m safe and I’m keeping other people safe.”
Thursday, the COVID test positivity rate in the state of Illinois was 1.3%. More than 68% of Illinois residents 18-and-older have received at least one dose of the vaccine. Fifty-one percent of adults are fully vaccinated.