Since March 25, the day Lightfoot ordered the lakefront and parks closed, police have dispersed 2,264 groups of 10 people or more, police spokesman Tom Ahern said. Interim Superintendent Charlie Beck issued a warning then that the time for educating was over and the time for enforcement was ramping up. On Friday, Ahern said officers had written 11 citations and made 17 arrests on disorderly charges after refusing to disperse.

That low number, Ahern said, indicates people are dispersing when ordered.

In anticipation of Easter, Ahern said the department has been “in constant contact with community leaders, clergy and neighborhood groups” to ensure they follow the public health order. He said officers will check Sunday morning to make sure congregations and other groups are doing so.

Lightfoot urged people to watch live-streaming religious services from home and avoid in-person gatherings. She warned that religious and family celebrations risked reversing the city’s progress at slowing the rate of new cases.

“This is tough on all of us, myself included, who look to this time to practice the traditions that mean so much to us and our loved ones,” she said. “But it’s imperative that this year, we worship in a new way.”

For Chicagoans, coronavirus arrived in late January, when city health authorities reported that a local woman who had traveled to Wuhan became ill after returning home. For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death.