Covid and our Meetings
Unfortunately, the Chicago Livebearer Society is unable to meet currently due to COVID restrictions in the State of Illinois.
Governor Pritzker has laid out plan to gradually reopen the state in his Restore Illinois Plan.
Restore Illinois Stages: When could we meet?
Illinois is currently in Phase 3 of the plan and gatherings of more than 10 people are prohibited.
CLS could meet when the state moves to Stage 4 (50 or fewer people). We would have to find a new meeting place to do so and masks and precautions would need to take place.
Historically, our club meets after Greater Chicago Cichlid Association Swap Meets. GCCA's next swap meet is planned for September 27th,These very large events would take place in Stage 5 since they attract over 1000 people.
To move to Stage 5, a number of key items items would need to be in place:
Testing, tracing and treatment are widely available throughout the state. Either a vaccine is developed to prevent additional spread of COVID-19, a treatment option is readily available that ensures health care capacity is no longer a concern, or there are no new cases over a sustained period.
What about meeting virtually?
CLS collaborated with GCCA to have Andy Piorkowski present in May 2020. We are looking at other speakers, too.