CHICAGO _ Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Thursday ordered the cancellation of all public events with more than 1,000 people for 30 days and urged organizers to call off private and public gatherings of more than 250 people in an effort to slow the spread of the new coronavirus.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Chicago Public Schools will remain open "at this time" but any school with a confirmed case will be ordered closed for the short term, she said. The schools will scale back large-scale events, Lightfoot said.
Pritzker said he had talked with owners of Chicago's major sports teams and asked them to cancel games until May 1 or play without spectators.
The move comes as state officials announced seven more cases of COVID-19, bringing the total since the start of the outbreak to 32. Some patients have since recovered.
The new cases include the first child, a Chicago resident, along with a Chicago woman in her 40s. There are three other new cases in Cook County: two women in their 70s and a man in his 50s. A Kane County man in his 70s and a McHenry County man in his 50s also have been diagnosed.
The governor stressed that Tuesday's primary election will go on as scheduled.
Lightfoot followed up Pritzker's remarks by declaring that all events of more than 1,000 people are "banned," but made clear that the order does not affect "airports, train stations, public transit or schools."
The announcements come a day after Lightfoot and Pritzker announced cancellation of the city's St. Patrick's Day festivities and as governors across the country are taking similar action.
Both Pritzker and Lightfoot recommended that people who can work from home do so. Lightfoot also said Comcast will provide low-income Chicago residents with 60 days of free internet to help them work from home, she said.
Pritzker also closed the James R. Thompson Center in the Loop to all people who don't have state business starting Monday.
Other states have made similar moves on shutting down large events. In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday placed restrictions on most gatherings of more than 500, while California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state public health department's recommendation to cancel or postpone events with more than 250 people is likely to be extended beyond the end of the month.
