CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker reminded residents Sunday of the importance of following social distancing guidelines as a viral video showing people crowded together at a house party believed to be in Chicago circulated.
“I would suggest that all of those people violated, not only the intention of the order that we put out but also they violated the trust of their friends and family,” Pritzker said during his daily coronavirus press briefing. The governor said he hasn’t seen the video of the party, which was uploaded by Tink Purcell on Facebook, but heard about it.
Though some people in the video are seen wearing masks, they’re also standing should-to-shoulder, violating the state-mandated shelter-in-place order that prohibits large gatherings and recommends people stand six feet or more apart. The order has been in effect since March 21 and has been extended through May 30.
With the order in place for five more weeks, it’s expected that some people may get antsy and violate the restrictions. Pritzker said he has the ability to enforce the social distancing guidelines but has allowed people to “self-enforce” and asked the police to reminded people of the laws. If individuals repeatedly refuse to adhere to the guidelines, they can be charged with reckless conduct and taken into custody.
“Though, again, we have discouraged police from doing that because we believe that people will, in general, follow the rules,” Pritzker said. “But if you’re putting the community in danger as a party like that does, that should be broken up.”
Pritzker’s adamance about following social distancing guidelines comes as the state loses another 59 people to coronavirus and gains 2,126 additional cases.
In total, Illinois has a total of 43,903 coronavirus cases, including individuals who have already recovered, and 1,933 fatalities. Ninety-six of the state’s 102 counties have reported cases. There are 4,595 COVID-19 patients in the hospitals throughout the state, with 1,267 in the intensive care unit and 772 of those ICU patients are on ventilators, he continued. Over the past 24 hours, 13,335 news tests have been administered, surpassing Pritizker’s initial daily goal of having 10,000 tests performed daily.