By Dave Dahl
SPRINGFIELD – Illinois recorded another one-day high in coronavirus cases Friday, 2,724. But there’s a one-day high in another category: testing. The state recorded 16,124 tests, blowing past Gov. JB Pritzker’s daily goal of 10,000.
This is important, the governor said, “not only because it allows us to isolate more of those who are COVID-positive so that they don’t spread the infection, but also because it moves us into the direction of expanding our surveillance for outbreaks. More testing means we can potentially lower the infection rate, so we are going to continue to push that number up.”
Dr. Ngozi Ezike, the director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, added some context. “It is not only important to identify individuals who need to be isolated or treated in a hospital, but it also informs our efforts on how to stop the spread,” she said. “We need to know at what level the virus is circulating and the areas where we need to implement more aggressive, more targeted areas. Since last Friday, we have pushed testing materials to 37 different long-term care facilities.”
Answering a question about reports the Douglas County sheriff is refusing to enforce the governor’s stay-home order, Pritzker said his inaction would lead to more people being sick, and he urged citizens there to go ahead and follow his guidelines.
On the difficulty gig workers are having in obtaining unemployment benefits, Pritzker encouraged them to attempt to apply through the Illinois Department of Employment Security web site; even if they are rejected, they will still be in the system when the site is back up and running.
The state now has 39,658 coronavirus cases and 1,795 deaths.
Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]
