UPDATED 12:35 p.m. WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2020
Governor JB Pritzker has announced new restrictions on adult and youth recreational sports in Illinois.
The restrictions cover school-based sports, travel clubs, private leagues, recreational leagues, and park district programs. They do not apply to collegiate or professional sports.
Gov. Pritzker says the restrictions will be tiered and will be posted to the state's .
The new guidance categorizes sports into three risk levels - low, medium, or high - based on the amount of contact between athletes and their proximity during play.
It sets four levels of play allowed based on current public health conditions.
- In level 1, only no-contact practices are allowed and they must be outside.
- In level 2, indoor and outdoor practices and intra-team scrimmages are allowed but there can be no competitive play.
- In level 3 intra-conference, intra-region or intra-league play is allowed and there may be state- or league-championship games allowed for low-risk sports only.
- In level 4, tournaments, out-of-conference play, and out-of-state play are allowed. State championship games would also be allowed in level 4.
The governor's office says, beginning Aug. 15, low risk sports can be played at levels 1, 2, and 3. Medium risk sports can be played at levels 1 and 2, and high-risk sports can be played at level 1.
The new restrictions come as the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) is meeting to discuss fall sports.
On Wednesday, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced 1,393 new cases of COVID-19, including 18 additional confirmed deaths.
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 175,124 cases, including 7,462 deaths, in Illinois.
ORIGINAL STORY
CHICAGO (WSIL) � Illinois Governor JB Pritzker is scheduled to provide an update on the novel coronavirus on Wednesday.
This is the latest update from Gov. Pritzker as cases of COVID-19 continue to rise across the state since moving into Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois recovery plan.
According to Pritzker's office, the press conference is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. Wednesday in Chicago.
The specifics on the press conference are not known at this time. News 3 will be live streaming the press conference here on our website and on our