All Illinois Schools Closed Due To Coronavirus Outbreak

CHICAGO, IL — Following suit with other states across the U.S., Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday announced all private and public schools across Illinois will close from Tuesday until at least March 30 in hopes of quelling the spread of the new coronavirus. The announcement comes as the state has seen 14 more positive COVID-19 cases since Thursday, health officials announced during a press conference late Friday afternoon.

Illinois is the eighth state across the U.S. to implement widespread school closures to slow the spread of the virus, Pritzker said.

"This is a larger part of our social distancing efforts," Pritzker said, adding, "having the general public staying home will have a massive effect on bending this curve and that means lives saved."

"This isn't coming; it's here," Pritzker continued. "We may have to live with it for awhile. There is no vaccine and there is no direct treatment. Let's get ahead of this."

As a way to live with it, many Chicago-area schools will opt to use online tools to teach students while they are home. Earlier on Friday, several school districts announcing closures ahead of Pritzker's announcement also shared some basic information on e-learning plans.

Adlai E. Stevenson High School was among the first school districts in the Chicago suburbs to announce a prolonged closure and a shift instead to e-learning. Superintendent Eric Twadell stressed the importance of using precautionary measure to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

Stevenson High School will be closed Monday through at least April 6. Students had Friday off, but teachers were at school prepping to shift their curriculum online.

"While we know this is an unprecedented decision, these are unprecedented times. We are committed to following CDC recommendations and to do our part in taking preventative measures to mitigate the impact of this pandemic," Twadell announced Thursday afternoon.

Stevenson teachers will aim to follow a regular class schedule during e-learning days. Teachers and students will be expected to be online and available to one another during the times when they would normally be at school, Twadell said.

Several school districts were already set to close before Pritzker's announcement — many choosing to start the closure on Monday. As of 3:30 p.m., 96 school districts announced closures, according to the Illinois State Board of Education, which launched a school closure tracker on its website.

Pritzker noted his decision to mandate the statewide closures start on Tuesday would allow teachers to get their lesson plans together over the weekend, whether those plans are online or offline, and then relay those plans to students on Monday.

The latest announcement from Pritzker comes shortly after President Donald Trump declared a national emergency in response to the new coronavirus outbreak. The declaration will free up $50 billion in federal aid to states and municipalities. During a national emergency, states could request a 75 percent federal cost-share for expenses that include emergency workers, medical tests, medical supplies, vaccinations and more, Bloomberg reported.

• Livestream: Trump Declares National Emergency Over Virus Spread

Earlier in the day, many seemed to be heeding the advice doled out by Pritzker on Thursday where the governor called on the public to call off all events of 250 people or more. He also mandated all events of 1,000 people or more be canceled or postponed immediately.

Besides school closures, this has led to St. Patrick's Day festivals and parades being canceled; the closure of several popular Chicago museums, including the Shedd, Field Museum and Museum of Science and Industry; the cancellation of library and conservation district programs; and suspension of church services with some planning to live-stream.

• Coronavirus In Illinois: What You Need To Know For March 13
• Coronavirus in IL: Cancellations and Closures
• Don't miss local and statewide news about coronavirus developments and precautions. Sign up for Patch alerts and daily newsletters.

Among the 14 new cases, nine are Chicago residents, four live in Cook County, and one of the cases is a Lake County resident. The residents range in age from their 20s to 90s, health officials said. While most of the people diagnosed with COVID-19 are recovering, 94 percent are in isolation either at home or in the hospital, according to a statement Friday from IDPH.

There have been no deaths as of Friday related to the virus.

During Friday's press conference, IDPH Director Ngozi Ezike lauded efforts to "get ahead" of the virus. In addition to the statewide school closings, event cancellations, social distancing, and creating employee plans to work remotely can help slow the spread of COVID-19, according to health officials.

Health officials are also urging frequent hand washing, staying home when sick, and covering coughs and sneezes.

"We are in extraordinary times as we see the reports around the world, and here at home we see the situation is rapidly evolving. The state is taking aggressive measures to help limit the spread of the virus as the number of positive cases increases exponentially," Ezike said at Thursday's press conference. "We want to get ahead of widespread community transmission to reduce the number of people affected. Again, we would rather be over-cautious than put the health of our most vulnerable citizens at risk."

Health officials are continuing to investigate the cases and have determined that about 30 percent are travel associated and 41 percent occurred due to contact with a COVID-19 case. The rest do not have a clear connection and are likely the result of spread in the community.

The IDPH has more information regarding protecting the spread of COVID-19 on its website.

Jonah Meadows contributed to this article.