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Weather Alert

Weather Alert

...HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CDT /8 PM EDT/ THIS
EVENING...

* WHAT...Peak heat index values of 100 to 105.

* WHERE...All of southern Illinois, southwest Indiana, western
Kentucky, and southeast Missouri.

* WHEN...Until 7 PM CDT /8 PM EDT/ this evening.

* IMPACTS...Prolonged hot temperatures and high humidity may
cause heat illnesses.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out
of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors.

Take extra precautions when outside. Wear lightweight and loose
fitting clothing. Try to limit strenuous activities to early
morning or evening. Take action when you see symptoms of heat
exhaustion and heat stroke.

&&

Locals emphasize risk of indoor dining, while sympathizing with businesses

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restaurant, virus, covid web
By Madeline Parker

(WSIL)--The ban on indoor dining in Illinois regions has greatly impacted locally owned restaurants, with some having to close their doors for good.

Those in the community said while they sympathize with businesses, they also recognize the danger of dining in.

Medical Professionals Stress the Danger of Indoor Dining

With the pandemic going strong 10 months later, many people are still opting to dine-in, instead of choosing drive thru or carryout.

SIU Medicine made a post on Facebook, encouraging those who want to dine out to take the safer options.

Other physicians are inclined to agree.

"Well, in a way, it's safe to do. I'm a physician, I'm a provider. So seeing the number of patients in the hospital and the number of COVID cases, I have my pity toward all the restaurants and all, but I think that it is the right thing to do at this time," said Dr. Bhanu Pisini.

By going to restaurants and dining in, SIU Medicine said indoor dining entails participating in three high risk activities at once, such as:

  1. Removing your mask
  2. Meeting up with people outside your home
  3. Being in a poorly ventilated area that allows the COVID-19 virus to linger.

"Carry-out is way better than dine in at this time to stay safe, because with the number of patients reaching 250,000, it's not safe to dine in," said Dr. Pisini.

Locals feel conflicted between being safe and supporting businesses

With the removal of indoor dining, pressure is put on restaurants to figure out how to keep people safe while still staying in business.

"Being in Southern Illinois, we have a lot of mom and pop businesses that are suffering because of it," said Domineak Miller, a local woman who feel conflicted about the indoor dining mitigations.

"If facilities are big enough where people can social distance, then they need to be social distancing. But to have people go in through the restaurant to go outside to eat in a tent is kinda crazy to me," said Miller.

With the mitigations still in place, it is not uncommon to see people crossing state lines to eat inside.

"And that's why we have people going to other states. I mean we already have a lot of people leaving Illinois. If you look at the news, Atlanta is open, they're letting people go in. So I think that there can be a balance in between the two," said Miller.