‘ Hint of leveling,’ but another 14,612 COVID cases, 168 deaths
Gov. J. B. Pritzker said Thursday the state is beginning to see “a hint of leveling” in new coronavirus cases and test positivity rates even as Illinois logged its second- highest daily case count and its third- highest death toll.
But he and health officials warned, no matter what the numbers might suggest, they provide no justification for Illinois residents to tuck into crowded Thanksgiving dinners with invited guests.
“The Thanksgiving holiday has to be celebrated like none other, but it’s not forever,” Dr. Ngozi Ezike, the head of the state’s department of public health, said Thursday.
State health officials reported another 14,612 confirmed or probable cases of COVID- 19 on Thursday, as well as 168 deaths.
That daily caseload is eclipsed only by the 15,415 reported one day last week.
The 168 deaths is the most since May 13, when the state reported 191, just eight days after logging 176.
This week, the number of people being treated in Illinois hospitals for COVID- 19 crossed the 6,000 mark. As of Wednesday night, 6,037 Illinois hospital patients were being treated for the virus; 1,192 were in intensive care units, and 587 were on ventilators.
“We continue to see concerning trends statewide in our hospitalization data, but in the most recent two or three days we’ve seen a hint of leveling in new cases and positivity rates in most of our regions,” Pritzker said. “It’s too early at this point to determine if this stabilizing of the average is a meaningful trend or an anomaly, but we’re glad to at least have a pause in our upward movement.”
In addition to wearing masks, maintaining distance and getting a flu shot, Pritzker also asked state residents to donate blood if they could. The governor said blood collection is “especially low around the holidays in normal times, and then add a pandemic on top of that — we need your help.”
The state entered Tier 3 of Pritzker’s mitigation plan Friday:
♦ Museums, theaters and casinos across Illinois will be closed.
♦ Capacity limits will be slashed to 25% at big- box stores and other retailers.
♦ Grocery stores and pharmacies will remain limited to 50% capacity.
The Chicago Park District will halt all inperson programming Friday until further notice, spokeswoman Michele Lemons said Thursday. That includes daytime child care services offered at certain facilities.