CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker urged local officials and authorities to disperse any election-night "watch parties" that fall afoul of coronavirus-related restrictions.
Pritzker was asked about the possibility that people might gather en masse at bars or restaurants Tuesday to watch election returns together, a tradition that could pose dangers during the second wave of COVID-19 in Illinois. State officials have increasingly shut down indoor service across Illinois because of spikes in metrics.
"It's these local officials," the governor said Tuesday at his daily coronavirus briefing. "If they don't do their job, then we're going to end up with hospitals having to turn people away, and that's just not something that I find acceptable."
Pritzker said a "terrible nightmare of a healthcare situation" could occur as people infected today get sick in weeks to come.
On Tuesday, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported 6,516 new cases of coronavirus, including 68 deaths. The statewide positivity rate is just under 10%.
The governor's coronavirus briefing was election-themed, not surprisingly. Pritzker again advised people to be patient in 2020 as some results take possibly days to tabulate.
In Illinois, he said 3.8 million residents had voted as of Tuesday morning — 2 million in person and more than 1.8 million by mail.
