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Police cleared crowds from the lakefront Wednesday evening. Credit: Jason Baumann/Boxless Media

CHICAGO — The state’s new stay at home order might reopen some golf courses — but in Chicago, they’re staying shut.

It’s not the only change Chicago has made to Gov. JB Pritzker’s stay at home order, which went into effect Friday.

Pritzker’s order says Illinois golf courses can reopen if players practice social distancing, and people can fish as long as they’re only two to a boat. But in Chicago, fishing and boating remain banned and golf courses must stay closed, according to a Friday announcement from the Chicago Department of Public Health.

People can do maintenance work and de-winterize their boats, however.

Chicago’s lakefront and adjacent parks will remain closed through May, too. The city shut them down March 26 due to concerns about crowds on the popular Lakefront Trail and at nearby beaches and parks.

Pritzker has said cities are allowed to modify the stay at home order — though only to add their own, more stringent requirements, as Chicago has done.

The city opted to keep golf courses closed because “Chicago still has further to go to bring down the curve,” according to the Chicago Department of Public Health.

As of Thursday afternoon, 21,506 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Chicago and 932 people have died of COVID-19.

The city is following the rest of the state’s stay at home order: Chicago will allow animal grooming services, greenhouses, garden centers and plant nurseries to reopen as essential businesses. And non-essential retail shops can open for curbside pickup and delivery orders.

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Chicagoans must also follow the state’s face covering requirement, according to the Chicago Department of Public Health. That means anyone who is 2 or older and medically able must cover their face when in public and unable to practice social distancing.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the city will give away 1 million masks to help people meet that requirement. According to the city, 250,000 reusable cloth masks will be given to aldermen to distribute to residents and another 750,000 reusable cloth masks will be given by the city to “vulnerable populations” in May.

The new stay at home order runs through May 30.

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