| Firm News
Illinois Government Responses to Covid-19 Updated 4/17/2020
Today’s update discusses:
- schools closed for remainder of school year
- 6 Midwest governors join forces to coordinate reopening
- testing eligibility guidelines changed
EMERGENCY POWERS
- Governor Pritzker announced today that Illinois schools will remain closed through the end of the school year. Districts are to continue with e-learning to the scheduled conclusion of the school term. Illinois joins 27 other states that have made the same decision.
ECONOMY
- Governor Pritzker joins Governors Mike DeWine of Ohio, Tony Evers of Wisconsin, Tim Walz of Minnesota, Eric Holcomb of Indiana, and Andy Beshear of Kentucky in a partnership to coordinate reopening of the economy in the Midwest. A statement from Governor Pritzker’s office indicated that before deciding the best time to reopen the economy, the states will examine sustained control of the rate of new infections and hospitalizations, enhanced ability to test and trace, sufficient health care capacity to handle resurgence, and best practices for social distancing in the workplace. While this is a joint effort, the Governors made clear that this does not mean the economy will reopen all at once; their coordination efforts will ensure that the economy is open in a way that will make sense and get this done right.
SOCIAL LIFE
- After the press conference on Thursday, Governor Pritzker stated that he has not yet determined whether to extend Illinois’ stay-at-home order. However, the Governor expects to make an announcement in the next several days. This decision will likely be molded not only by the COVID-19 data throughout Illinois, but also by the decisions made in Illinois’ sister states.
HEALTH
- This week, Governor Pritzker has announced relaxing the state’s stringent eligibility guidelines for COVID-19 testing. The guidelines will now allow anyone who is symptomatic to get tested for the virus without being required to have a doctor’s order. This decision is a result of Thursday’s coronavirus-related death toll of 125, the deadliest day of the pandemic yet in the state.