With more and more people getting the vaccine, the number of COVID-19 cases in Illinois are starting to decrease. Having fewer cases in local areas, there have been lifts on the coronavirus restrictions that have been enforced on the local cities and state. As a result, restaurants throughout Illinois are allowing people to eat inside, under social distancing, at under 50 percent capacity, and the necessary safety precautions needed.

Schools are also going back to full time in person learning, allowing online learners to return to the classroom. Speaking of returning to school, our own school of Wayne City has officially taken away remote learning on Wednesdays, having students come back to school five days a week now, and having all full time remote learners come back to school unless they have a medical reason not to. It is now allowed to have indoor gatherings as long as they are under fifty percent capacity, same as the restaurants.

Even with all these new changes and re-openings, masks are still going to be a mandatory part of everyday life. That fact probably isn’t going to change anytime soon. Though we have made significant  progress in returning to life before the pandemic, Illinois state lawmakers are still pushing for Governor J.B. Pritzker to further lift even more Covid-19 restrictions. With the vaccine hard at work, things are starting to look up. Maybe even by this time next year, things will be back to how they were before the corona virus impacted all of our lives.