The village of Oak Park announced March 27 it has increased its efforts to convince people to stay inside, as the number of residents testing positive for COVID-19 increases.
According to the announcement, “Patrol officers are on the streets, speaking with business operators and groups that may be in violation of the state order prohibiting gatherings of 10 or more people.”
The village also stated in its announcement that “residents should significantly restrict outings” and “only interact with family members or friends outside one’s household to provide essential assistance.”
Oak Park also closed its public-use playgrounds, sports courts and playing fields March 26 in a further attempt to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the village. The number of positive confirmed cases has reached a total of nine but is likely to increase.
Under its “Stay at Home FAQs,” the state of Illinois defined staying at home as people “must stay at home, leaving only for essential reasons such as to get groceries or medicine, to get medical care, to get exercise, to take care of others, and for certain types of work. You should significantly restrict your outside movement to only essential outings, to help stop the spread of the virus.”
According to the state of Illinois, social distancing is only a first step, albeit an important one, in preventing the spread of infectious diseases, such as COVID-19. Social distancing allows people to carry out their daily routines and activities with the addition of precautionary health and safety measures.
Under the state’s mandatory order to stay home, people are required to stay in their homes unless they have an essential job or are carrying out essential tasks, such as grocery shopping or picking up medications, as defined by the government.
