States consider new virus restrictions as revelers pack bars

New Jersey's governor is considering a curfew, and Illinois may require bars and restaurants to close after revelers ignored warnings against attending large gatherings to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

In New Orleans and Chicago, people clad in green for St. Patrick's Day packed bars and spilled onto crowded sidewalks Saturday even after the cities canceled their parades.

“I’m not about to put my life on hold because this is going around,” Kyle Thomas told the Chicago Sun-Times. Thomas, a nurse from Colorado, said he had flown to Chicago to celebrate St. Patrick's Day with friends and thought people might be ”overreacting."

In New Orleans, Syd Knight, 86, celebrated despite the public health warnings and the higher risk she faced because of her age.

“The Lord will take care of us all,” Knight told The Times-Picayune-New Orleans Advocate.

Oklahoma's governor tweeted a picture of himself and his children at a crowded metro restaurant Saturday night.

In the since-deleted tweet, Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt wrote: “Eating with my kids and all my fellow Oklahomans at the @CollectiveOKC. It's packed tonight!"

“The governor will continue to take his family out to dinner and to the grocery store without living in fear, and encourages Oklahomans to do the same,” Charlie Hannema, a spokesman for the governor, said in an email.

Health officials have advised people to distance themselves from each other socially. Some states have banned gatherings with more than a certain number of people.

"If you are young and healthy, listen up: We need you to follow social distancing guidelines, too,” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, said. “Please, please, do the right thing for your community, your friends and for your family.”

Pritzker said Sunday on...