Gyms Ordered Closed As Lake Bluff Declares Coronavirus Emergency

LAKE BLUFF, IL — Village trustees voted unanimously via speakerphone at an emergency village board meeting Wednesday to amend the Lake Bluff municipal code to expand the definition of a civil emergency to include epidemics of infectious diseases.

Village President Kathy O'Hara then declared such an emergency in response to the outbreak of the new coronavirus, which causes COVID-19. Trustees then extended the state of emergency until the end of the next village board meeting. O'Hara was the only elected official to attend the meeting in person.

"The Illinois Department of Public Health has now confirmed localized community person-to-person transmission of COVID-19 in Illinois, significantly increasing the risk of exposure and infection to Illinois' general public, and creating an extreme public health risk in the village and throughout the state," O'Hara said, in the declaration.

As of 3 p.m. Wednesday, there were 22 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, or SARS-CoV-2, among Lake County residents, according to the Lake County Health Department. The department learned of the first infected county resident a week earlier.

"As has been experienced in other locales in the United States and around the world, the SARS-CoV-2 virus has the potential to infect large numbers of people in a short amount of time, placing extreme burdens on the health care system and the economy," O'Hara declared.

In her first set of emergency orders, O'Hara mandated the closure of all physical fitness facilities and membership sports and recreation clubs starting Thursday.

Zak Rivera, owner of Focused Results Personal Training, addressed the board before the vote. He explained the basis of his fitness business was one-on-one training and there was never more than eight people present at one time. Amid concerns over the coronavirus, he said about half of the sessions conducted by personal trainers at his facility have been conducted online and virtual.

"We've been diligent and we understand the severity of the issue, and we're just trying to operate our business as any small business owner would like to do, and also take care of our clients," Rivera said, asking the village president to allow him to stay open and offering to adhere to additional hygienic restrictions.

"We're trying to have our clients be safe as well as our trainers, but as our trainers — and obviously myself and my wife who own the space — are reliant on our doors to be open, or at least to be able to do virtual sessions," he said. "In order to pay the trainers, for them to make a living, for us to make a living, it's pretty much imperative that we have that ability to be able to operate our business to some degree."

O'Hara said she truly appreciated Rivera's concerns. Later in the meeting, a trustee asked the village president if an exception could be made for local small businesses to conduct one-on-one training.

"I am certainly not thrilled about having to do this declaration. But I am closing them all, and that is under my authority to do so," O'Hara said.

Despite the hardship for affected businesses and workers, O'Hara said the public's health and safety were the paramount concerns of village leaders.

"I truly believe that at this point in time we have to do this," O'Hara said. "I am hoping that it will not be for a long duration, and I truly understand how this will affect a lot of local businesses and everything else — both locally and nationally."

The declaration also authorized emergency purchasing and staffing measures for village employees in the police and public works departments, as needed, to protect health and safety.

The amendment to the village code and emergency declaration is essentially identical to similar such ordinances incorporated by other suburban municipal clients of Elrod Friedman, recently co-founded by Lake Bluff's village attorney. The changes define civil emergencies and extraordinary emergency authorities.

The Illinois Municipal Code grants local governments the power to declare their own states of emergency, and the firm encouraged all its municipal clients to update their codes to include the authority, according to co-founder Steve Elrod.

The order to close gyms in Lake Bluff follows the closures of Lake Bluff village, park district and library facilities to the public.

Gov. JB Pritzker issued a disaster declaration on March 9 and subsequent emergency orders that mandated the statewide closure of all public and private schools, a ban on gatherings of 50 or more people and a restriction on dine-in service at bars and restaurants.

In Highland Park, Mayor Nancy Rotering ordered all health clubs, movie theaters and live performance venues closed by the end of the day Tuesday after declaring a state of emergency over the weekend.

Lake Forest has closed all city playgrounds and all non-essential municipal buildings, and fire department officials have asked residents to limit calls to 911 to true medical emergencies, according to an announcement from city staff. Emergency personnel and public health officials requested that those experiencing only mild symptoms stay home and try to avoid infecting others.

Dr. Sana Ahmed, medical epidemiologist at the Lake County Health Department, asked those showing mild COVID-19 symptoms — fever, coughing, shortness of breath — to distance themselves from others in their household and using a separate bedroom and bathroom when possible. Call a doctor if the symptoms worsen.

"We are prioritizing testing for symptomatic people who have high risk of complications — older adults living in congregate settings and those with chronic health conditions like heart disease, lung disease or diabetes, and those with weakened immune systems," Ahmed said in a release.

The moves are an effort to maximize social distancing practices, reduce the rate the coronavirus spreads in the general population and prevent hospitals from becoming overwhelmed, a public health intervention often referred to as "flattening the curve."

O'Hara was joined behind the dais by Village Administrator Drew Irvin and Village Attorney Peter Friedman at Wednesday afternoon's emergency meeting. They maintained a distance of at least six feet, as recommended by public health officials, to minimize the risks of transmitting the virus to one another.

"The most important message is that our residents need to stay home," O'Hara said in a release announcing the emergency declaration.

Trustees were able to vote over the phone thanks to an executive order by the governor. The next Lake Bluff Village Board meeting is tentatively set for April 13.