1,362 new virus cases as city adds 4 states to travel quarantine list

Public health officials on Tuesday announced 1,362 more people have tested for COVID-19 in Illinois, the lowest number of new cases confirmed in a single day statewide in almost three weeks.

The latest coronavirus cases were detected among 45,624 tests submitted to the Illinois Department of Public Health, lowering the state’s average testing positivity rate over the last week to 3.6%. Tuesday’s daily caseload is the lowest since the state added 1,337 new cases Sept. 9.

The state has logged about 1,930 new cases of the virus each day this month, up from an average of 1,812 new cases per day in August.

But the state has run almost 7,000 more coronavirus tests per day in September compared to last month, leading to falling positivity rates in most regions — and cautious optimism from Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s health team. Experts use the positivity rate to determine how quickly the virus is spreading.

Chicago is at 4.5% positivity, while all its surrounding regions are below 6%.

Numbers are trending in the wrong direction in the northwest corner of the state from DeKalb west to Jo Daviess County, though, where the average positivity rate topped 8% for a third straight day — now up to 8.3% — meaning the Democratic governor’s office will step in with “mitigations,” including a ban on indoor bar and restaurant service beginning Saturday.

Officials also said the virus has killed 23 more Illinoisans. COVID-19 has claimed at least 8,637 lives statewide.

Chicago health officials added four more states to the city’s travel quarantine list: Kentucky, Wyoming, Texas and Nevada.

In all, residents and visitors to Chicago are required to self-isolate for two weeks upon arriving from 22 states and Puerto Rico, which are all considered hotspots: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin.