Saturday’s game at Northwestern University in Illinois was canceled due to “COVID-19 safety protocols,” the school reported.

Although most of the world seems to have moved on from COVID handwringing, this is the second game in a row that the deep blue state university has canceled over the virus.

Neither Northwestern University nor Wildcats head coach Chris Collins has explained just how many players have tested positive. But the team would only need five players to mount a game. The staff has not said if any of the players are actually sick or if they are just testing positive. It also appears that the team has ruled out seeking any walk-ons to replace players.

Head coach Chris Collins of the Northwestern Wildcats looks on during the second half in the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes during the Big Ten Tournament at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on March 10, 2022, in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Justin Casterline/Getty Images)

The move to cancel games over COVID fears in Illinois may not be much of a surprise. The left-wing gov. of the state is also still issuing COVID “emergency powers” proclamations.

As Jan. 2023 dawned, JB Pritzker issued his 38th consecutive “disaster proclamation,” assigning wide-ranging powers to himself to mitigate the virus. With this latest move, “Pritzker will have held emergency powers for 1,060 of 1,483 days in office or over 70% of his tenure.,” the Illinois Policy Institute reported.

Illinois is one of only nine states still allowing its gov. to take on emergency powers, and it is the only state in the Midwest still doing so. Of those nine states, only one, Texas, is led by Republicans. But Texas is being inundated with virus cases among the hordes of illegals streaming across the border thanks to Joe Biden’s open borders policies.

Regardless, for the most part, postponing games over COVID protocols ended early in 2022, though two games were postponed in December. The Fairfield University vs. Drexel and University of Rhode Island vs. Milwaukee games were rescheduled for Dec. 21 due to COVID issues. They were reportedly the first COVID-affected games of in 2022.

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