Monday’s coronavirus updates: Region 6 gets all-clear to advance to Tier 1, bring back limited indoor dining; 4 more deaths in Champaign County -…

After a 59-day break, indoor dining is back in Champaign, Douglas, Ford, Piatt, Vermilion and the 16 surrounding counties that make up Region 6.

With hospitalizations dropping for the seventh time in 10 days and its seven-day positivity rate continuing its downhill trend, Region 6 on Monday was given the all-clear to go directly from Tier 3 to Tier 1, bypassing Tier 2 of the state's mitigation plan altogether.

That means the immediate return of indoor dining with limitations. Among them: Restaurants and bars can serve the lesser of 25 guests or 25 percent capacity per room; tables are limited to four people and must be spaced six feet apart; and establishments must close by 11 p.m.

The new rules take effect immediately, IDPH spokeswoman Melaney Arnold told The News-Gazette.

It was a close call Monday. Region 6's hospitalization number dropped by just one, to 180, giving it the required seven days of decline in a 10-day period.

The other metric the region needed to go its way a seven-day positivity rate under 8 percent wasn't as close. Region 6's rate fell from 7.0 to 6.7 percent Monday, its seventh straight day in decline.

Here's a look at Region 6's seven-day positivity rates since Jan. 1 (with three-day lags):

Region 6 joins southern Illinois' Region 5 and north central Illinois' Region 2 in Tier 1. Both advanced over the weekend after spending less than 48 hours in Tier 2.

In reaching Tier 1, Region 6 isn't all the way back to where it was before Nov. 20, when Gov. J.B. Pritzker placed all 11 regions in Tier 3. The last remaining step is to move from Tier 1 to Phase 4.

Regions 3 and 5 both advanced to Phase 4 on Monday. To get there, regions must meet these criteria, similar to previous rounds with the exception of a lower seven-day positivity rate:

1. A seven-day positivity rate less than 6.5 percent for three consecutive days.

2. 20 percent available staffed ICU hospital beds for three consecutive days, on a 7-day rolling average.

3. No sustained increase in the number of people in the hospital with COVID-19 for seven out of 10 days, on a 7-day average.

Four more Champaign County residents have died with COVID-19.

The county's death toll from the disease now stands at 101, according to the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District Monday.

The latest deaths included two women in their 60s, a woman in her 70s and a man in his 80s, according to district Administrator Julie Pryde

The number of Champaign County residents hospitalized with COVID dropped by two, to 28.

New cases in the county were up in the past day by 85, to 15,428, with 721 of them currently active 39 fewer than the day before.

More to know in Champaign County:

Close contacts currently in quarantine declined by 80, to 1,006.

7,314 new tests were added in the past day, boosting the total to 1,339,864.

Recoveries were up by 122, to 14,608.

Heres an updated rundown of county ZIP codes with active cases, according to health district data:

Twelve of the 65 COVID patients at Carles hospital in Urbana are in intensive care, according to data updated Monday by Carle Health.

In all, 87 patients with COVID-19 were hospitalized Monday in Carle facilities, with 13 of those in ICU.

Carles BroMenn Medical Center in Bloomington had 18 COVID patients (one in ICU), while Richland Memorial Hospital in Olney had three (none in ICU).

Carle Hoopeston Regional Health Center had one COVID patient.

Below is an overview of daily totals since Jan. 1 for Carles Urbana and Bloomington hospitals.

Since March, 1,073 COVID patients have been discharged from Carle facilities and 236 hospitalized patients have died.

The rest is here:

Monday's coronavirus updates: Region 6 gets all-clear to advance to Tier 1, bring back limited indoor dining; 4 more deaths in Champaign County -...