SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Governor J.B. Pritzker defends his decision to delay the start of high contact sports for high school students. He says that local school districts can’t afford the same kind of protection that pro and college sports have.

“There’s a bubble around many of these teams so that they’re not interacting with members of the public. It is a lot different in high schools across the state of Illinois. High schools can’t afford to do that kind of thing,” said Gov. Pritzker.

The governor says that expanded COVID-19 testing could play a role in helping to bring high school sports back. Right now Illinois is averaging more than 52,000 tests per day.