Chicago woman first Illinoisan lost to COVID-19
State reports 55 new cases, including 22 at a DuPage County facility for long-term care
Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, and Gov. Pritzker give their daily coronavirus briefing at the Thompson Center in Chicago on Tuesday. (Illinois Information Service)
By Ted Cox
Illinois suffered its first death Tuesday due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Gov. Pritzker began his daily briefing at the Thompson Center in Chicago by saying, “I’m deeply saddened to share news that I’ve dreaded since the earliest days of this outbreak — the first COVID-19-related death in Illinois.”
According to the governor and Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, the Chicago woman, in her 60s, had had close contact with another coronavirus case and also had underlying medical issues.
But at the same time the larger outbreak picked up pace in the state, as Ezike said there were 55 new cases — the highest single-day count yet — including 22 at a DuPage County facility for long-term care. A resident registered a positive test for COVID-19 last weekend, and additional testing found 18 residents tested positive, as well as four staffers. Media reports later revealed it was the Chateau Center in Willowbrook.
That brings the state total to 160 COVID-19 cases, with 15 counties affected. No new counties registered cases Tuesday.
Attorney General Kwame Raoul appeared at Tuesday’s briefing, calling for citizens to resist hoarding and for businesses to “maintain fair pricing.” He urged state residents to “report incidents of price gouging to my office,” preferably by telephone or online.
Raoul said his office is monitoring products sold online as well, especially goods associated with health care including medical supplies, protective equipment such as masks, and medication. Warning of scams, he emphasized there is nothing approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the cure or treatment of COVID-19, adding that any claims to contrary are “absolutely false.”
Raoul added, “I want to implore people to to act as one Illinois.”
The governor, however, felt compelled to take issue with the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, which issued complaints through the media Tuesday about being compelled to go through with Tuesday’s Illinois primary. Pritzker insisted that — as an elected official himself — he had no right to step in and halt or delay voting as mandated by state law. He advised the Chicago board to quit their complaining and concentrate on making sure voting and the vote count proceeded as smoothly as possible.
“It’s not a time for political posturing,” Pritzker said.