VIRAL REALITY
Shoppers across city snap up toilet paper and hand sanitizer, leaving store shelves bare as fear grows over coronavirus threat
As fears mount over the rising number of coronavirus cases in Illinois, shoppers looking to stock up on essentials like toilet paper and hand sanitizer found shelves bare Thursday at stores across the city.
The run on supplies comes as the spread of COVID-19 begins to affect nearly every facet of life in Chicago. As college campuses close and transit agencies consider reducing service, aldermen are even mulling whether to shut down City Hall.
Sarah Witt was among the hundreds of people hustling through a Costco in Lincoln Park on Thursday afternoon. Witt fears Illinois is now “going on the same trajectory” as Italy, which has gone on lockdown to quell the spread of the disease after seeing more than 1000 deaths. So she filled her cart with dozens of water bottles, batteries and flashlights to prepare for the worst-case scenario.
“I should’ve done this a month ago,” said Witt. A similar scene played out in stores across the city, including at a Jewel-Osco in Wicker Park where shoppers quickly bought up all the face masks, tissues, disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer Thursday.
“As soon as they came in, we already had a line,” a store supervisor said. “A lot of the shelves are completely wiped out.”
College students prepare to head home
Students at Loyola University Chicago started packing their belongings Thursday as the school announced it was shifting to remote learning and closing its residence halls — in the middle of the semester.
On the other side of the city, the University of Chicago sent a letter announcing that all campus residences would be closed for the upcoming spring quarter. Samson Streachek, a 19-year-old U. of C. freshman from outside the Twin Cities in Minnesota, said he was disappointed, like many of his peers.
“This is the quarter everyone was looking forward to, with the weather being better, more things to do outside,” said Streachek, who thinks he’ll be able to do most of his classwork online without issue.
U. of C. students are expected to vacate residence halls by 5 p.m. on March 22 and take spring courses online, administrators said.
For Loyola students, in-person classes will be suspended Friday through the end of the current semester.
Students said they were prepared for the decision after other schools announced they were moving classes online this week. But Loyola, U. of C. and DePaul went further than others in essentially emptying out residence halls and forcing students to either return home or find other places to live.
Students, though, were largely understanding of how unprecedented the situation is.
“From a public health perspective, I understand it’s what has to be done,” said Aaron Smoot, a 24-year-old working on a master’s degree in public policy.
Suburban schools to shut too
Public schools will be closed in Evanston and Oak Park.
Evanston Township High School District 202 and Evanston/Skokie School District 65 will both be shut until April 12, with students’ last day in school on Friday, according to statements from both districts. District 65 students will begin an “e-learning” program Monday, while ETHS students will start Tuesday.
In Oak Park, Elementary School District 97 and Oak Park and River Forest High School will offer remote classes between March 16 and March 20, as the districts will observe spring break the week after, officials from both districts said. Classes have been canceled Friday, but teachers are required to attend to develop their e-learning plans.
District 97 plans to reopen schools March 30.
City Hall remains open — for now
The Capitol building in Washington, D.C., is closed to the public, but for now, Chicago’s City Hall, the nerve center of city government, will remain open.
A top mayoral ally thinks shutting it would be the right move, but Mayor Lori Lightfoot was not ready to order that drastic step.
Wednesday’s City Council meeting will, however, be kept short while still fulfilling the legal requirement for public participation before official proceedings start, said Ald. Matt Martin (47th).
Still, Ald. Susan Sadlowski Garza (10th), the mayor’s hand-picked chair of the Council’s Committee on Workforce Development, wanted to go further — by closing City Hall for two weeks, canceling the meeting.
Late Thursday, aldermen were told the Council meeting — and the committee meetings leading up to it — will go on as scheduled and that Chicago Public Schools will remain open as public health officials closely monitor the situation.
Lincoln Park Zoo will be closed through April 10, Zoo Director Megan R. Ross said Thursday in a statement. “We are carefully monitoring all animals in our care. At this time, we have no reason to believe any zoo animal is at risk,” Ross said.
Metra, Amtrak mull service cuts
Metra and Amtrak are reporting a decrease in passengers, and they expect ridership to dip more as coronavirus spreads. Both rail agencies are also mulling cutting back service in anticipation of fewer people taking public transportation.
Amtrak’s nationwide bookings are down 50%, cancellations are up more than 300% and “significant reductions” in service were expected, according to an internal company advisory.