All kinds of companies have been claiming they provide an “essential” service to the public during the coronavirus pandemic, so they can stay open despite a mounting number of stay-home orders from state and local governments. They include arts-and-crafts chains JoAnn Fabrics and Michaels and the video game seller GameStop.The refusal of those retail chains to close their doors for the sake of public health has enraged employees and customers who believe their services are anything but essential. One small city in Northern Illinois actually did something about it.A spokesperson for the McHenry, Illinois, police department confirmed to HuffPost on Wednesday that in recent days it has served cease-and-desist orders against JoAnn Fabrics, Michaels and GameStop, telling the retailers they were violating the stay-home order issued by Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D).“We did a couple of compliance checks after the governor put in his executive order, and then we did serve them with cease-and-desists after they failed the compliance checks,” said Patrick Polidori, public affairs officer for the McHenry Police Department.A call to the JoAnn store in McHenry went to a voicemail that said, “Following local government and health officials, our store is currently closed.” A call to the local GameStop went unanswered. A worker who answered the phone at the Michaels location said it was now closed. Public health experts have warned that people need to maintain a safe distance from one another to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Government officials have cautioned against large gatherings and asked anyone capable of teleworking to do so. Businesses that aren’t essential and require close contact between people have been told to cease operations in several states. The stay-home rules vary from one jurisdiction to the next, but they tend to follow the Department of Homeland Security guidelines for “critical infrastructure” sectors during an emergency. Examples of critical infrastructure are health care, communications, transportation, banking, and food and agriculture. Companies can keep operating if they meet the criteria.
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Source : aol.com/news
RELATED: Take a look at the retailers that have closed stores due to the coronavirus:
- This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Source : aol.com/news