A stay-at-home order for all of Illinois went into effect at 5 p.m. Saturday evening, meaning residents are only advised to leave their homes for essential needs.
The order, a sweeping mandate issued by Gov. J.B. Pritzker Friday in an attempt to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, will remain in effect until April 7.
Essentially, the order closes "non-essential" businesses and determines what is a "necessary industry," such as government, grocery store employees, pharmacists, healthcare workers, daycare providers, media and several others- and what is not.
Gov. Pritzker previously said law enforcement will take action if necessary, but added the state doesn't have enough resources or the desire to police every individual's behavior.
The city of Chicago also closed its parks and libraries Saturday evening, at the same time the mandate went into effect.
Similar orders have been issued in the U.S. and even in Illinois on a local level.
The announcement comes one day after California's governor ordered the states 40 million residents to stay home indefinitely and venture outside only for essential jobs, errands and some exercise, warning that the coronavirus threatens to overwhelm the state's medical system.
In the west Chicago suburb of Oak Park, a shelter-in-place order began Friday as the village's mayor and health officials try to stop the spread of the deadly virus. The order is in effect from 12:01 a.m. March 20 through 11:59 p.m. on April 3.
