111 More Coronavirus Deaths In Illinois, As Confirmed COVID-19 Cases Surpass 76,000
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Illinois public health officials have confirmed 2,325 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, including 111 additional deaths, the fifth day in a row the state has had more than 100 fatalities from the novel coronavirus.
It's the first time the state has had such a long streak of virus-related deaths during the pandemic, but state officials have repeatedly said in recent days that Illinois appears to have hit a plateau in the COVID outbreak, and that the rise in deaths tends to lag behind the rise in confirmed cases.
According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, Illinois has now had 76,085 confirmed COVID-19 cases in 98 counties since the start of the pandemic, including 3,349 deaths.
In the past day, the state has conducted 16,617 virus tests, for a positivity rate of 13.99%, about the same as Friday's rate of 13.97%.
As of midnight Friday night, 4,739 confirmed or suspected coronavirus patients were being treated in Illinois hospitals, including 1,215 in intensive care, and 739 on ventilators; a slight decrease in hospital and ICU cases, but a slight uptick in patients on ventilators.
For the first time in two months, Gov. JB Pritzker and state health officials did not hold a public briefing to discuss the virus outbreak. Earlier this week, the governor said the state would no longer be holding briefings on weekends.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot's office announced Saturday that four Chicago businesses have been chosen to produce 1 million reusable cloth masks to be distributed by the city.
The city has entered into agreements with South Loop-based Barbara Bates Designs, G.A.I.A.U. Product Design & Development Ltd., Silk Screen Express, and The Will Group to create the masks.
The mayor's office said 250,000 of the masks will be delivered to Aldermanic offices for distribution, and 750,000 will be provided through the city's Racial Equity Rapid Response Team.
"Each of these one million cloth masks coupled with the thousands that individuals have donated themselves represents the generosity, compassion and true spirit resiliency of Chicago," the mayor said in a statement.
The governor's extended stay-at-home order, which went into effect on May 1, loosened some restrictions to allow some non-essential businesses to reopen, but also requires people to wear a mask in public when they cannot maintain at least six feet of distance from others.