Illinois Gov Pritzker Orders State Residents To Stay Home Until April 7

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CHICAGO –  On Friday Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker ordered all state residents to remain in their homes except for essentials, such as buying groceries and medicine.

Pritzker’s order takes effect Saturday at 5 p.m. and is set to expire April 7.

Pritzker said this could potentially tens of thousands of lives.

He urged people not to panic and acknowledged that the state doesn’t have the resources or “the desire” to broadly enforce the order.  He added that law enforcement will take action if necessary in individual cases.

The order exempts people who work in many essential industries, including health care, manufacturing, transportation and food production or sales, including at grocery stores and restaurants.

The stay-at-home order will also mean schools statewide remain closed until April 8.

As of Friday afternoon, Illinois has reported 585 cases of COVID-19 in 25 counties, up from 422 a day earlier. The state reported one more death Friday, a woman in her 70s from Cook County, which brought the state’s toll to five.