The order came as the Illinois Department of
Public Health announced 163 new confirmed cases of the disease and one
additional death, bringing the total, as of Friday afternoon, to 585 cases in
25 counties and five related deaths. The
C-U Public Health District announced on Saturday that two
University of Illinois employees tested positive for the virus.
While the order is in effect, people will be
allowed to leave their home for a wide range of ordinary functions such as
seeking medical attention and to acquire necessary supplies and services,
including groceries, medicines and supplies that enable them to work from home.
They also will be allowed to leave home for outdoor activities such as walking,
jogging, running or walking their dog, provided they maintain at least a
six-foot distance from others. Per the order, bars and restaurants will still
be allowed to offer carryout, curbside pickup and delivery, and mail and
shipping operations will continue as well.
Dr. Emily Landon, lead epidemiologist at
University of Chicago Medicine, described the measures as necessary and
indicated they might remain in place beyond April 7. “In short, without taking
drastic measures, the healthy and optimistic among us will doom the
vulnerable,” she said. “We have to fight this fire before it grows too high.”
“These extreme restrictions may seem, in the
end, a little anticlimactic,” she continued, “because it’s really hard to
feel like you’re saving the world when you’re watching Netflix from your couch.
But if we do this right, nothing happens. Yeah, a successful shelter-in-place
means that you’re going to feel like it was all for nothing. And you’d be
right. Because nothing means that nothing happened to your family. And
that’s what we’re going for here.”
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