NW Illinois News

State Rep. Randy Frese, along with 41 other legislators from both sides of the aisle, sent a letter to Gov. Pritzker and IDPH Director Dr. Ngoze Ezike, requesting an increase of the audience attendance at K-12 extracurricular events.

They requested to have audience limits go from 50 persons, to 25 percent of venue capacity, for both indoor and outdoor venues.

“Families and fans can safely return to local high school sporting events,” Frese said in his website announcement.

This comes after conversations with school officials who are involved in the planning and execution of extracurricular activities. The school officials have reported that there have been no major viral outbreaks after resuming extracurricular activities that were previously not allowed.

The legislators praised the effort made by those involved in making sure everyone is safe from COVID-19. They “believed that this same level of safety can be maintained and outbreaks of COVID-19 can be avoided and mitigated.”

The letter said by strictly following IDPH and CDC protocols of mask-wearing and keeping a 6 feet social distance from others, while allowing a 25 percent venue capacity, these measures would limit the spread of the coronavirus.

They further stressed that by allowing the increased attendance, families, high school seniors, and athletes, whose lives have been interrupted by the pandemic, can make a lot of memories that would otherwise be missed.