Coronavirus cases rise to 288 statewide
Gov. Pritzker counsels to stay home, avoid mistakes made in Europe: ‘No place and no person is immune from COVID-19’
Gov. Pritzker holds his daily coronavirus briefing at the Jackson County Courthouse in Murphysboro. (Illinois Information Service)
By Ted Cox
The governor and his head of public health counseled Illinoisans to stay home and avoid the mistakes made in Europe Wednesday as the number of coronavirus cases rose again to 288 statewide.
The 128 new cases reported since Tuesday set another in a series of one-day highs for the advance of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Gov. Pritzker warned, “The numbers will get much worse in Illinois before they will get better.”
That’s in spite of a state response that found Illinois to be the first state to initiate its own testing for the virus. Pritzker said at his daily coronavirus briefing that “it’s still not enough” as the state awaits additional test kits from the federal government.
“That is the biggest challenge we’ve faced so far,” he added. “You can trace it to a decision” by the Trump administration “not to use the (World Health Organization) test.”
The 288 cases of the disease have been found in 17 counties, and Pritzker warned Illinoisans not to feel complacent wherever they live.
“No place and no person is immune from COVID-19,” he said at his daily coronavirus briefing, held Wednesday at the Jackson County Courthouse in Murphysboro. “We must act with urgency. We must act now.
“People of all ages from 9 to 99 have contracted COVID-19,” Pritzker added. “This virus knows no boundaries.”
To that end, and to avoid the result of the belated response to the pandemic in Europe, Pritzker and Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, urged residents to stay home as much as possible — especially those 60 and older and those with compromised immune systems or respiratory problems, who have proved more prone to the disease at its worst.
“You don’t need a test,” Ezike said. “Assume you have COVID and stay home and don’t transit it to another person.”
In Italy, which has become the center of the outbreak in Europe since it spread from China, they’re reporting 3,500 cases or more each day, and the death toll has climbed above 2,500, due in part to how hospitals are filled and many patients can’t get treatment.
“We don’t want to see a situation where we have more people that need a bed than we have beds and have to decide who gets care and who doesn’t,” Ezike said.
Pritzker said Illinois should “learn from the mistakes” committed elsewhere as “a cautionary tale,” adding, “You should just assume that you may have coronavirus.” That’s because an as yet unknown number of those infected with the disease show moderate symptoms, making them silent carriers of the coronavirus.
Pritzker also tried to quell the economic impact the disease is having as people are told to stay home and the economy slows. He said he had applied for federal emergency loans for small businesses and had talked with U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi about a new federal relief package working its way through Congress. He’s urging the expansion of Medicaid to treat those without health insurance and expanded unemployment benefits to provide income to those idled by the outbreak.
The governor called for calm and insisted there was no need for hoarding of any kind, saying, “Grocery stores, pharmacies, gas stations, the things we all need will not be shutting down.”
Rich Miller’s Capitol Fax reported Wednesday that the Illinois Department of Employment Security registered 41,000 new claims for unemployment in two days this week, almost 10 times the 4,445 who filed for benefits the same two days last year.
The Illinois Commerce Commission announced a deal with state utilities for a moratorium on service shutoffs, and Pritzker said sheriffs statewide were working to halt evictions. In Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Wednesday that the city would suspend debt-collection practices, such as the Denver boot, and penalties for late payment on an array of city fees including parking and moving-violation tickets and utility bills.
“This is a common-sense way that we can help mitigate the burdens and pressures many are feeling. We know that these practices disproportionately impact the residents that are most in need during this crisis,” Lightfoot said. “We realize that many of our residents are strapped for cash right now as the effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus has created difficult economic circumstances for those who are unable to work. We don’t want to further impact people who can’t afford to pay these penalties today and want to provide some breathing room to help them prioritize how to address their financial obligations.”
On the state level, Pritzker announced a new comprehensive government website compiling the latest data and advice on the coronavirus. Ezike advised parents and children to resist the urge to have play dates, even with all schools closed, saying, “That just negates the benefit of the school closure. If you’re a tween, the same thing, don’t call everyone over and socialize.” She urged citizens to do all they can to “break the cycle of spread, and that means staying home as much as possible.”
Chairman Keith Larkin of the Jackson County Board said no cases had been confirmed yet in the county, but he fully endorsed the steps taken by the governor. “Don’t let fear steal your humanity,” he said. “Don’t miss an opportunity to check on friends and family. Make sure your elderly neighbors are taken care of. Support local businesses any way you can. We are going to get through this together. Make sure that, when this over, your stories are stories of kindness and community.”
“People are making sacrifices everywhere,” Pritzker said. “That is the moment that we’re living in, everybody. We have got to stand up for each other, and I’m making that plea to people across the state of Illinois, and they’re responding in spades.”