Police break up parties violating Illinois' 'stay-at-home' order

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Sunday, March 22, 2020
Police break up parties violating 'stay-at-home' order
Police broke up two parties that violated Illinois' "stay-at-home" order.

CHICAGO, Illinois -- Police had to break up two parties, enforcing Illinois Governor JB Pritzker's "stay-at-home" order that took effect Saturday night.

Video showed heavy police response as officers reminded party-goers of the statewide order in an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19.

Officers busted one event at an AirBnB in a Chicago neighborhood. No one was arrested, however officers did order everyone to go home.

The governor said this order is not one he takes lightly and one that was made after talking to health care experts, mathematicians, and looking at the modeling for what will happen without taking this drastic action. Pritzker said he enacted the order to avoid the "loss of potentially tens of thousands of lives."

Illinois' action now means more than one in five Americans are under stay-at-home orders. That includes everyone in New York, California and Connecticut where violators are being threatened with fines.

In Louisiana, people across New Orleans have also been ordered to stay home. Restrictions are also in place in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Florida where several beaches have been closed.