By Illinois Radio Network
SPRINGFIELD – A day after declaring a state of emergency, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced eight more cases of coronavirus, including two in the Chicago suburbs possibly contracted through community transmission.
The youngest person in Illinois so far to contract COVID-19 is a man in his late teens from the Lake County and McHenry County areas. The other, a woman in her 60s, is a Kane County resident. Health officials said Tuesday that both cases were being considered “community transmission” at this time, meaning health officials don’t know how those people were infected.
The other six cases were in Cook County, by far the most populous county in the state. Four of those are in their 40s. As of Tuesday afternoon, 19 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Illinois.
All eight people were in stable condition.
“We encourage everyone to check in on their elderly friends, relatives and neighbors, to wash their hands regularly and vigorously, and to use precautions about large crowds,” Pritzker said at a news conference Tuesday in Chicago.
Pritzker criticized the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for not sending enough COVID-19 tests.
Of course, we must also contend with the reality that our capacity cannot be separated from the material response of our federal partners. I have personally reached out to senior federal officials to demand that we get more tests as soon as possible.
— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) March 10, 2020
“I am very frustrated at the federal government,” he said, adding that there were not enough tests to check out all that have said they are exhibiting symptoms. “We have not received enough tests.”
A spokesman for the CDC said Tuesday that, as of March 4, all of the CDC kits for testing 75,000 people have been shipped to state and local public health labs across the country.
As of Monday, the CDC said there were 647 cases of COVID-19 in 36 states, including the District of Columbia. Thirty-six of those cases have been from community transfer, meaning officials don’t know how the person was infected.
COVID-19 is a novel coronavirus that emerged in late 2019 in China.
For general questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email [email protected].
Illinois Radio Network can be reached at [email protected].
