CHICAGO, Ill. — Illinois bars and restaurants will be closed for the next two weeks.
During Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s daily update, he announced that beginning Monday, March 16 that all bars and restaurants are expected to close down to help flatten the curb of spreading COVID-19.
“We are working with restaurant owners and food delivery services across the state to see if restaurants can safely keep their kitchens open, so the restaurants can continue food delivery to people at their homes,” Pritzker said. “Additionally, we are allowing drive-thru and curbside pickup for restaurants to serve the public over this period.”
Pritzker said he knows this is a hard step for small businesses across the state.
“But we must do everything we can to safeguard the health and safety of the citizens of the state of Illinois,” Pritzker said.
Pritzker’s hope after the outbreak is over, that his staff hears complaints that they overreacted.
“That will have meant that we survived all of this with the best possible outcome,” he said.
Pritzker also addressed the hardships that grocery stores across the state have faced with the surge of shoppers.
“I want people to know that Illinois’ food supply chain is among the nation’s strongest, and I’m committed to keeping it that way as this situation evolves,” Pritzker said.
The state of Illinois now has 93 positive cases of coronavirus, spread across 13 counties, according to Dr. Ngozi Ezike, the Director of the Department of Public Health.
“The number of positive test results that we are getting each day is increasing exponentially and the number of counties across Illinois is also expanding,” Ezike said.
Ezike said that we must take precautions to protect ourselves from the spread of COVID-19.
