Health officials on Friday announced the latest 110 deaths attributed to COVID-19 in Illinois, along with 2,758 newly confirmed cases of the disease across the state.
The latest coronavirus casualties raised Illinois’ death toll to 4,715 and the case tally to 105,444, though most of those who have contracted the virus over the last four months have recovered.
More than half of the COVID-19 deaths were in May.
The Illinois Department of Public Health received 25,113 test results with a positivity rate of about 11%, keeping all four regions of the state on track to advance to Phase 3 of Pritzker’s reopening plan May 29.
That will allow retail stores and other “non-essential” businesses to resume limited operations with precautions in place — though it’ll take a little longer than that for Chicago.
A day after saying Chicago restaurants and bars wouldn’t be ready to reopen with outdoor table service along with the rest of the state at the end of the month, Mayor Lori Lightfoot unveiled her plan Friday to “cautiously reopen” sectors of the city economy in early June.
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Illinois’ latest coronavirus numbers came shortly after President Donald Trump called on churches to reopen. That could set up a showdown this weekend between Pritzker and the several churches across the state that have already mounted legal challenges against his stay-at-home order, which has closed most houses of worship for two months and counting.
Pritzker’s office has maintained that churches and other religious institutions are considered essential under his order and can operate as long as they follow U.S. Centers for Disease Control guidelines capping gatherings at 10 people or fewer.
And the governor’s order so far has survived the series of religious challenges in federal court. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found last weekend that the stay-at-home order “does not discriminate against religious activities.”
That hasn’t stopped a handful of Chicago-area churches from flouting the order altogether and holding services the past two weekends.
