Officials on Monday reported another 59 COVID-19 deaths, although the state has seen less than 100 deaths for three consecutive days and hospital metrics continue to improve in the Chicago area.
There have been 4,234 coronavirus deaths in the state since the pandemic began, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. The state also reported 2,294 cases, bringing the total positive count to 96,485. The state received 21,290 tests back on Sunday.
Illinois has seen three consecutive days in which fewer than 100 people have died. On Saturday, 74 deaths were reported, and on Sunday, there were 51 deaths. Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration last week released death projections that predicted a range of 50 to 150 deaths into June or July. One research institution predicted a range of between 50 and 300 deaths.
There are 4,120 in the state’s hospitals with a COVID-19 diagnosis, according to Dr. Ngozi Ezike, the head of the Illinois Dept. of Public Health. Of those, 1,096 were in the ICU and 636 of those patients are on ventilators. Those numbers are an improvement from late Thursday, when there were 4,367 people in hospitals with COVID-19, 1,129 in the ICU and 675 on ventilators.
The state’s positivity rate — the number of positive tests out of the total returned — is 10.7%. And in the hardest-hit region of the state, the Northeast region, the positivity rate is 17.9%. Gov. J.B. Pritzker has tied four regions and their positivity rates and hospital metrics into his controversial reopening plan. All regions of the state are on track — under a 20% positivity rate — to move to phase three of his plan after his extended stay-at-home order expires May 30.
That phase will allow for non-essential manufacturing, non-essential businesses, barbershops and salons and retail stores to open with safety guidance. Bars and restaurants would remain closed but would be open for delivery, pickup and drive-thru only.
The Democratic governor over the weekend saw protests over his stay-at-home extension outside the James R. Thompson Center in Chicago and in Springfield. He’s also battling legal challenges as the Illinois General Assembly is set to return to Springfield on Wednesday to try to finalize a budget and iron out other issues.
Pritzker on Monday planned to talk about the state’s contact tracing program. The governor has said the state needs more testing and tracing in order further open up its economy.
