As what seems like a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic sweeps the nation, resulting in record-breaking infections, hospitalizations, and deaths since the beginning of this crisis, it appears no particular city or state in this country is immune to the ravages of this devastating disease. Chicago and Illinois in general are no exceptions. As such, Mayor Lori Lightfoot of Chicago and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker both announced recently that new restrictions on public interaction are necessary, including more stay-at-home orders for all nonessential services and workers. If you are a co-parent with a parenting agreement that entitles you or the other parent to child visitation or parenting time rights, you might be concerned about breaking these orders to maintain your time with your children or the possibility of infecting your children in order to continue with visitation. You should not worry too much about this aspect of the orders, though, and here is why.
Child Visitation Is Considered Essential in Illinois
Similar to last time this happened, court-ordered parenting time with your children is considered essential. This means just as you are permitted under these orders to visit the doctor, the pharmacy, or the grocery store, you can also visit your children if required by the courts, provided you take the proper precautions (social distancing, mask wearing, etc.)
4 Ideas for Maintaining Your Visitation Routine During Stay-at-Home Orders
It can be difficult to stay safe with the pandemic raging now, worse than it has ever been, and even more so when you are trying to maintain a healthy relationship with your children after a divorce. Soon, we might all need to hunker down in Illinois again and stay inside for a while longer until a vaccine for COVID-19 is developed. This might make child visitation less likely and even less safe. In order to stay compliant with court-ordered parenting time rights and keep the co-parents’ relationships with their children positive, consider these activities:
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