CHICAGO — Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton announced Thursday that she has contracted COVID-19, while health officials revealed the state has reached more than 30,000 new daily cases of the coronavirus for the first time.
The lieutenant governor took to Twitter shortly before 10 a.m. to disclose her positive test, but said she has mild symptoms and intends to recover in isolation.
“I’m so relieved to be fully vaccinated and boosted,” Stratton tweeted. “If you have yet to do so, please get vaccinated, your booster and wear a mask. I appreciate your prayers and good vibes!”
Her announcement comes as a winter surge has brought the number of COVID-19 cases statewide to unprecedented levels since the pandemic took shape in March 2020.
On Thursday, the Illinois Department of Public Health announced there were 30,386 new cases, the highest recorded daily caseload ever in the state. Illinois has also reached a daily average of 18,321 for the week ending Thursday, also a record high. (The average is based on the total for that day and six prior days.)
But those numbers could be higher because the state doesn’t count positive results that may have been determined by at-home test kits. Those people would only be counted if they’d also gone to a testing location for a separate test, and that came back positive.
Reasons for the skyrocketing number of cases could be that testing has become more prevalent, though new viral variants like delta and omicron have shown they’re able to infect some people who are fully vaccinated, as well as those with booster shots. The preliminary positivity rate for testing in the last week is 10.2%, according to the IDPH. Vaccinated people are much less likely to be seriously sick and have generally avoided serious illness from the new variants, however.
And while the 177 members of the Illinois General Assembly were slated to begin their three-month legislative session on Tuesday in Springfield, top legislators said the rise in cases has prompted them to only meet during the week on Wednesday, and session days the following week will likely be canceled.
“We continue to monitor the situation in an effort to protect our colleagues, our staffs and everyone else who is part of a legislative session day,” state Senate President Don Harmon, an Oak Park Democrat who has disclosed that he had COVID-19 last summer despite getting vaccinated earlier this year, said in a prepared statement Thursday. “We have work to do, and we’ve proven that we can do it, minimize exposure and keep people healthy and safe. I encourage everyone to take advantage of the vaccines and booster shots available to protect themselves and those around them.”
The rise in cases is also evidenced by an increase in hospitalizations throughout December and days where dozens of people died from the virus.
“In the past 2 weeks, Illinois’ daily average of COVID-19 cases increased 130% and hospitalizations have risen 50%. This pandemic is not over,” House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, a Democrat from Hillside, said Thursday in a statement. “We must take necessary precautions to mitigate the spread of the virus, reduce the burden on our health care systems and keep each other as safe as possible. We know how important the people’s work is and we are committed to getting that work done in a safe way. Please take advantage of the free and widely available vaccines and boosters because we know it is our best tool in this fight.”
At the same time, IDPH announced it will adopt a recommendation from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to reduce the number of days for isolation and quarantine.
On Monday, the CDC updated its recommendation to shorten isolation for people who contract COVID-19 from 10 days to five days if they don’t have symptoms, which might include a fever, chills, sore throat, cough, shortness of breath, body aches and loss of taste or smell. But those people must wear a mask for five days after their isolation period ends.
“These recommendations apply to all individuals, including those who are unvaccinated or are not boosted even though they are eligible,” the IDPH said in a statement.
The state public health department said the CDC also recommended shortening a quarantine from 10 days to five days “for those who are close contacts to a COVID-19 case and have no symptoms.” Those people, however, should also wear masks for five days after their quarantine ends. But if you’re fully vaccinated and have a booster shot, as well, quarantining after close contact isn’t necessary, though you should wear a mask for 10 days after exposure, the state public health department also said, citing the new CDC guidelines.
Meanwhile, schools should continue to follow the state public health department’s guidelines for children who are vaccinated but aren’t yet eligible for boosters. This can be found at dph.illinois.gov/covid19/community-guidance/school-guidance.html.
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(Chicago Tribune reporter Joe Mahr contributed to this report.)
