Pritzker: “We Are In a New Wave of COVID-19”
Governor JB Pritzker speaks at a news conference earlier this year.
As the state listed 34 of Illinois’ 102 counties, a full 1/3, to the state warning list for high positivity rates of the coronavirus, Governor JB Pritzker announced the state is already “in a new wave” of the disease.
The counties currently reported at the warning level are: Adams, Alexander, Boone, Cass, Christian, Clay, Clinton, Crawford, DeKalb, DeWitt, Jasper, Jefferson, Jo Daviess, Johnson, Kane, Lee, Macon, McDonough, McHenry Mercer, Monroe, Pike, Pulaski, Randolph, Saline, Stephenson, Union, Vermilion, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Whiteside, Will, Winnebago.
That’s up from 27 a week before.
Positivity rates range from 26.6% in Crawford County, in southern Illinois along the Indiana border to 0.6% in Massac County, along the Ohio River bordering Kentucky. Some of the most populous counties in the state have also seen recent bumps in the positivity rate. Winnebago County, home of Rockford is registering 10.4% positivity, McHenry County is up to 8.6%, Macon County, home of Decatur, is at 9.4%, and Vermilion County, containing Danville, is registering 9.3%.
Saturday, the state reported another 3,629 cases and 27 additional deaths. Friday the state reported a one-day record 4,554 cases.
“I am deeply concerned,” Pritzker said Friday at an unrelated event in Elgin, pointing to rising cases and positivity rates around the nation. “We are challenged to try to maintain our positivity rate at a lower number to try to keep people from getting COVID-19.”
So far, Pritzker has been issuing mitigations by region. Currently, in the Rockford area, bars and restaurants are closed to indoor dining. Areas in the Metro East around St. Louis, as well as Will and Kankakee counties were previously smacked with restrictions.
Pritzker, though, did not rule out another stay-at-home order if positivity rates grow too high or hospitals are again overwhelmed.
“That’s not what we’re looking at,” Pritzker said, indicating he plans to stick with regional mitigations, if possible.
Pritzker also said Friday he plans to extend the moratorium on residential evictions for another month.