The Illinois governor issued a stay-at-home order Friday, joining New York and California in commanding lockdowns to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the drastic mandate Friday afternoon with plans for it to take effect on Saturday until further notice for the state’s 12.6 million residents.
The state had more than 470 confirmed cases and four deaths as of Friday afternoon.
“I’ve asked every one of these experts, what action can I take to save the most lives?’” Pritzker said, according to the Chicago Tribune.
“Well, they’ve come back to me with one inescapable conclusion: To avoid the loss of potentially tens of thousands of lives, we must enact an immediate stay-at-home order for the state of Illinois.”
Illinois will make exceptions for essential workers, and those exercising and running errands, such as grocery shopping and going to the pharmacy.
California announced its “stay-at-home” mandate Thursday, with Gov. Andrew Cuomo in New York following up Friday, issuing an order requiring all non-essential workers to stay home.
All four deaths in Illinois were announced this week, with the first coming Tuesday, a woman in her 60s with had an underlying health condition, NBC reported.
With Post wires
