The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Party’s over: 4 states close bars, restaurants over virus
On Saturday night, revelers in many parts of the country ignored warnings against attending large gatherings to prevent the spread of coronavirus. On Sunday, it became clear that in many places, the party is over.
Illinois, Ohio, Massachusetts, Washington state and New York City are among the places that ordered bars to close and restaurants to stop dine-in service. Takeout and delivery will still be allowed.
In New Orleans and Chicago, people clad in green for St. Patrick’s Day packed bars and spilled onto crowded sidewalks Saturday, even after the cities canceled their parades.
“I’m not about to put my life on hold because this is going around,” Kyle Thomas told the Chicago Sun-Times. Thomas, a nurse from Colorado, said he had flown to Chicago to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with friends and thought people might be “overreacting.”
In New Orleans, Syd Knight, 86, celebrated despite the public health warnings and the higher risk she faced because of her age.
“The Lord will take care of us all,” Knight told The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate.
Oklahoma’s governor tweeted a picture of himself and his children at a crowded metro restaurant Saturday night.
In the since-deleted tweet, Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt wrote: “Eating with my kids and all my fellow Oklahomans at the @ CollectiveOKC. It’s packed tonight!”
“The governor will continue to take his family out to dinner and to the grocery store without living in fear, and encourages Oklahomans to do the same,” Charlie Hannema, a spokesman for the governor, said in an email.
Health officials have advised people to distance themselves from each other socially. Some states have banned gatherings with more than a certain number of people. Those warnings have become more urgent as the disease spread in the U.S., where about 3,500 people have become infected and more than 60 have died.
The vast majority of people who contract the new virus recover within weeks. It causes only mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but can lead to more severe illness, including pneumonia for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems.
“The time for persuasion and public appeals is over,” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said. “This is not a joke. No one is immune to this.”
The Democratic governor ordered all bars and restaurants in his state to close from Monday night until March 30. He said he had tried earlier last week to appeal to everyone’s good judgment to stay home, to avoid bars, and not congregate in crowds.