COVID-19 cases rose 1,257 on Thursday in Illinois, and 25 more people died from respiratory disease, but the latest daily case count above 1,000 occurs when the state conducted a record 43,006 tests in 24 hours.
The Illinois Department of Public Health on Thursday reported a seven-day positivity test rate of 3.1%, and the daily rate dropped to 2.9%. The positivity rate has hovered around 3% in the past week.
At a press conference Thursday in Rockford, Governor JB Pritzker acknowledged that he is concerned that the state may soon step back in its pandemic struggle, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
“Now that we have a massive increase in cases across the country, my confidence level is, you know, challenged,” Pritzker said. “And then I look at the state of Illinois, and although we’ve had a slight increase, it’s one that I see every day because anyone who knows anything about epidemics knows that when you have a slight increase, that’s an indicator that you’re going in the direction wrong, and it can multiply. So we want to make sure we handle that. “
The total case count statewide is now 157,950, with 7,251 deaths.
The number of daily cases exceeded 1,000 five times in the past eight days. The count hit 1,156 on June 5, then decreased and remained below 1,000 until July 9.
The number of people in Illinois hospitals with COVID-19 symptoms rose to 1,434 as of Wednesday night, more than the seven-day average of 1,406, but a decrease in Tuesday’s count of 1,454 patients.
The ups and downs of positivity rates, hospitalizations, and the number of cases are receiving close scrutiny as school districts across the state grapple with the kind of learning offered when classes resume from August. Many are considering a combination of remote learning and classroom instruction.
“This fall will not be like any other drop from the school perspective we have seen,” Pritzker said Thursday.
He addressed questions about the potential of opening schools early and having classes outside, Capitol News Illinois reported.
“We have let school districts make these decisions because each of them is different, their ability to do so is different,” he said. “What we want to make sure of is that there are options here. So we invested a lot of money this summer and, frankly, even in the spring to increase our e-learning resources.”
“It is not as good as in person … I think the experts have determined it,” he said. “But having options is very important, particularly in this very uncertain world of a new coronavirus.”
Social distancing and face coverage in schools are not flexible, the governor said.
On Wednesday, Pritzker redesigned the boundaries to monitor COVID-19 conditions, expanding from four to 11 regions including Chicago counties, Cook, DuPage and Kane suburbs, Lake and McHenry counties, and Kendall counties and Will.
The state also reviewed how it might intervene when COVID-19 metrics in a region show a negative trend, offering a “menu” of three levels of options to go back in activities.
If a local COVID-19 outbreak occurs, restaurants and bars, considered higher risk environments for spreading the virus, will automatically be subject to restrictions, ranging from reducing indoor food and bar service to allowing only service takeaway, as an example.
Other entities that could be forced to cut back if COVID-19 erupts in a region include offices, team sports and gyms, and retail.
Triggers for interventions include a sustained increase in the positivity rate for the COVID-19 tests based on a seven-day moving average (over seven of 10 days) plus a seven-day increase in hospital admissions for related symptoms or a ICU reduction and hospital bed capacity of 20% or more.
Another cause would be three consecutive days with positive result rates of 8% or more on the COVID-19 tests.
So far, the suburbs are not in any risk category.
Currently, there is too much flow for a comfort level, said state Rep. Fred Crespo, chairman of the House’s Committee on Elementary and Secondary Education.
In August, “When school is ready to start, will the positivity rate be higher? The governor will have to make a different decision at that time,” said the Hoffman Estates Democrat.
“If schools are going to happen, there must be masking and distancing,” IDPH director Ngozi Ezike said Wednesday. “But to get there, we don’t have to have widespread community broadcasts at unsustainable rates … to go to school safely.”
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