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For the first time since Illinois had its first reported case of COVID-19 in January, the state saw fewer deaths in a week than in the previous week. Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, said Tuesday that 780 people died from the virus this past week. There were 790 deaths the previous week. And although that number “represents 780 individuals who lost their lives and families and loved ones and communities who are mourning those deaths,” Ezike said it makes her “hopeful that this fact is th...
SPRINGFIELD — As the entire state remains on pace to enter the next phase of reopening in just nine days, Gov. JB Pritzker announced a major addition to the allowed activities under the phase: outdoor dining at restaurants. Pritzker on Wednesday said restaurants and bars will be able to open outdoor seating to customers when the businesses’ region moves into Phase 3 of the Restore Illinois reopening plan, which all four regions are on pace to do on May 29. “With the right restrictions, tables six feet apart and away from t...
SPRINGFIELD — Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday announced the launch of Illinois’ contact tracing program and defended an emergency rule filed Friday to allow for misdemeanor charges against businesses defying his stay-at-home order. The contact-tracing effort for COVID-19 — one that is required to move the state along the governor’s “Restore Illinois” reopening plan — will begin in two pilot counties. Pritzker said contact tracing, which was used early on in the state’s coronavirus outbreak when the number of cases was manageably...
SPRINGFIELD — Gov. JB Pritzker on Thursday announced new resources to help the hundreds of thousands of people unemployed in Illinois, unveiling an online portal that will offer job training and connect job seekers with prospective employers. Get Hired Illinois is a “one-stop shop” for job seekers of all levels and backgrounds to access career training programs, virtual job fairs and opportunities to connect with employers, the governor said. “It’s critical that our state do everything possible to help our residents...
SPRINGFIELD – Illinois continues to increase its COVID-19 testing capacity, setting a one-day record on Friday with more than 20,000 tests completed in state during the previous 24 hours. The Illinois Department of Public Health reported on Friday that 20,671 tests for COVID-19 were completed the previous day, bringing the state’s total to 399,741, which is about 3 percent of Illinois’ population. “Illinois has made important and measurable progress in growing our daily test numbers, today for the first time exceedi...
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Public Health on Sunday reported the state’s highest one-day total of COVID-19 tests with 19,417 completed in the past 24 hours. For more than a week, the state has met its long-stated goal of 10,000 daily tests, a trend Gov. JB Pritzker has said is key to incrementally lifting the stay-at-home order and other social and economic restrictions. Since the outbreak began, 319,313 tests have been completed. IDPH also reported 2,994 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday and 63 new deaths, bringin...
SPRINGFIELD — Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday denounced a state representative from southern Illinois, calling the lawsuit that defeated his stay-at-home order in court “a cheap political stunt.” Referring to state Rep. Darren Bailey, R-Xenia, only as “the state representative from the 109th district,” Pritzker said Bailey’s successful lawsuit in Clay County circuit court on Monday was “designed so that the representative can see his name in headlines.” “This ruling only applies to one person because it was only ever about o...
SPRINGFIELD — Illinois surpassed a long-stated benchmark of 10,000 daily completed tests for COVID-19, state officials announced Friday. Gov. JB Pritzker called the testing of more than 16,000 people in the past day “a very important milestone” in the state’s response to the pandemic. The Illinois Department of Public Health reported Friday that 16,124 tests were completed in the past 24 hours, shattering the state’s previous daily high of more than 9,000. “Vital to our efforts to reduce social restrictions, get our economy g...
SPRINGFIELD – Illinois matched its deadliest day of the COVID-19 pandemic on Saturday as the state Department of Public Health reported 125 deaths in the previous 24 hours, matching Thursday’s record. IDPH also reported 1,585 new cases of the disease, bringing Illinois’ total to 29,160 cases with 1,259 deaths. The novel coronavirus has been reported in 93 counties after Hamilton County in southern Illinois reported its first case on Saturday. More than 137,000 tests have been completed, including more than 7,000 in each...
SPRINGFIELD – Certain essential workers in Illinois who believe they contracted COVID-19 on the job will now be automatically covered by workers’ compensation. Gov. JB Pritzker made the announcement Monday as the state reported that new cases of COVID-19 in Illinois increased by more than 1,000 for the eighth straight day, jumping 1,173 to a new total of 22,025, according to the Illinois Department of Health. Deaths rose 74 to a total of 794. Eighty-seven of Illinois’ 102 counties have reported cases. More than 105,000 people...
SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker Friday announced increased testing for COVID-19 in Illinois communities of color, which officials say disproportionately suffer from the disease. Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago will partner with four health centers that serve low-income and underserved residents of the city’s west and south sides to perform 400 additional daily tests over the next several days. In the Metro East area, three locations of the Southern Illinois Healthcare Foundation system will test an additional 470 peopl...
SPRINGFIELD – Illinois on Saturday became the 10th U.S. state to top 10,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as the state’s public health department announced its largest one-day increase in cases. On Saturday there were 10,357 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Illinois, a spike of 1,453 since Friday. There were 33 more deaths reported Saturday, bringing the total to 243. And 68 of Illinois’ 102 counties now have reported cases, while the vast majority of cases and deaths have been in Cook County. “The number is sobering and reminds...
SPRINGFIELD – New federal and charitable funding will soon be available to Illinoisans affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as the state on Thursday saw its largest one-day spike of new cases and deaths during the pandemic. President Donald Trump approved Illinois’ disaster declaration on Thursday, allowing the state to access emergency funding to expand health care services like increasing hospital and housing capacity and expanding telehealth services. In his 18th consecutive daily briefing on the pandemic, Gov. JB Pri...
SPRINGFIELD – Illinois health officials Tuesday announced the first cases of coronavirus illness in people outside Cook County. The victims, a McHenry County resident in his late teens and a Kane County woman in her 60s, are likely the state’s first cases of “community spread.” Neither of these cases have a travel history to an affected area or a connection with other known cases. Though officials are still investigating, they believe these are the first known instances of the virus spreading throughout the populat...
