Widespread business closures have far reaching consequences | Facebook
Widespread business closures have far reaching consequences | Facebook
Perry County activist Michael Phillips says restaurant closures are dangerous. He is blunt and to-the-point in expressing his thoughts about actions being taken in the wake of the coronavirus that have paved the way for local governments to enact sweeping regulations on the masses. Many aspects of life are affected for millions of people.
“They are playing with fire,” Phillips told the SW Illinois News. He discussed actions taken by the Champaign City Council to grant itself the power to do everything from limiting gun sales to rationing utilities and seizing private property.
Approved on March 13, the ordinance also paves the way for city leaders to impose emergency curfews, to bar residents from public buildings, and to shutter businesses over the next 28 days in Illinois’ 10th-largest city. Restaurants have moved to taking orders by phone only.
While acknowledging the wide-range of power the ordinance allows for, City Attorney Fred Stavins told the News-Gazette, it’s too early to determine which powers may actually be used by the city.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s mandate orders all of the state’s 250,000 bars and restaurants to close for dining as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases across the state has shot to 585 as of March 21, including five deaths, Phillips argues he would have also liked to have seen a different response.
“(They) should have done it sooner,” he added.
Pritzker’s order is slated to be in effect until March 30, and the governor has already indicated it could extend beyond then based on the situation.
According to the Center for Disease Control, as of March 21 there were 15,219 known cases of COVID-19 across the U.S. with at least 201 deaths.
There are currently no vaccines or drugs approved to treat or prevent COVID-19.
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