COVID-19 numbers have improved enough that Governor JB Pritzker says the state can move to the “bridge phase” of reopening, with higher capacity limits at most locations, on Friday, May 14th.

That also starts the clock for reaching full reopening… known as Phase Five… as early as June 11th. But the governor warns that the timeline could change if we begin to see increases in new cases, hospitalizations, or ICU bed usage. Pritzker says the best way to avoid that and ensure a full reopening as quickly as possible is for everyone who is eligible to be vaccinated against the virus as quickly as possible.

The state is now taking steps to let individual physicians administer vaccinations to their patients during the course of checkups or other office visits, as a way to make the vaccine even more easily accessible.