Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Announces 10 pm Curfew for “Non Essential” Businesses

On Thursday the democratic mayor of Chicago, Lori Lightfoot, announced that effective the next day a mandatory 10:00 pm curfew will be put in place against “non essential” businesses.

The new mandate comes as the city is seeing an uptick in new Covid-19 cases. The restriction will be in lace for two weeks. The order also stated that bars without a proper food license will not be allowed to serve food indoors.

The order also restricts personal gathers; only 6 or few people are allowed to meet together.

Lightfoot claims she’s putting these measures in place, “to avoid potential catastrophic impacts” because of the rise in coronavirus cases. She confined to say, “We’re now seeing an uptick again of large groups of people gathering without social distancing and worse, without mask. Some of it, of course, is a misplaced sense that those you know don’t have it. That’s wrong.”

Allison Arwady is the head of Chicago Department Public Health and she said the city is averaging 645 new Covid cases each day. She said, “Large gatherings and even small gatherings are posing significant health risks right now. There is a 30% chance that someone in a group of 25 people has COVID-19. There is a 50% chance that someone in a group of 50 has COVID-19 even getting together, 10 people in Chicago, 14% chance that someone has COVID-19.”

Lightfoot said the city is in a critical moment and that they have no choice but to put the restrictions in place. “I don’t want to put more restrictions in our city. No one does, but I have to do what is right to save lives and if that means rolling back further, I will.”

Sources: The Daily Caller, Chicago Tribune; Photo-Associated Press