Pritzker, Ezike push expanded testing as key
141 new COVID-19 deaths reported, near one-day high; guv brushes aside new church lawsuit against stay-at-home order
Gov. Pritzker touts increased testing for COVID-19 at the daily briefing Thursday at the Thompson Center in Chicago. (Illinois.gov)
By Ted Cox
The governor and his public health director pushed expanded COVID-19 testing as “key to reopening the economy and keeping people safe” at the daily coronavirus briefing Thursday in Chicago.
Dr. Ngozi Ezike reported 141 new COVID-19 deaths, near the one-day high of 144 set earlier in the week, bringing the state toll to 2,355. Some 2,563 new confirmed cases brought the state total to 52,918. The number of coronavirus patients hospitalized and in Intensive Care Units dropped slightly, while the number of those on ventilators increased.
“People are still getting infected,” Gov. Pritzker said. “More and more people are in the hospital, and more of them are dying.”
On increasing pressure to ease stay-at-home restrictions, Pritzker added, “We really need to be extraordinarily careful until those numbers subside.”
Both Pritzker and Ezike touted increasing testing as essential.
“Testing, tracing, and (personal protective equipment) are key to reopening the economy and keeping people safe,” Pritzker said. He said statewide testing sites had increased from 112 last Friday to 177, and he touted two new drive-through sites opening next week in Waukegan and East St. Louis. That will give the state seven drive-through test sites, capable of processing a total of 3,000 a day. Total daily tests remained well above Pritzker’s stated goal of 10,000, with 13,200 reported Thursday. He pledged to provide additional testing to employees returning to work “as soon as possible.”
“Testing is one of the keys to reopening the state,” Ezike said. She urged people who are tested to make sure they fill out the accompanying questionnaire completely in order to ease community tracing of infections on positive results.
“Testing and comprehensive information will help us end this pandemic sooner,” she added. Ezike attributed a decline in the positive rate on COVID-19 tests to expanded access and “relaxing our testing criteria,” so that it’s no longer just people showing coronavirus symptoms who are tested.
In response to questions about easing restrictions in parts of the state that have not seen severe outbreaks, Pritzker pointed out that the extended stay-at-home order that takes effect Friday is more lax on state parks and golf courses reopening downstate, along with elective surgeries in hospitals. Statewide, greenhouses, garden centers, and nurseries are formally declared open, while “nonessential” businesses will be allowed to conduct deliveries and curbside pickups.
Pritzker emphasized, however, that a new requirement that everyone 3 and older wear a mask or face covering in places where 6-feet social distancing is difficult — as in grocery stores — also takes effect Friday.
Oprah Winfrey (left) will give the commencement address at a virtual graduation ceremony for Chicago Public Schools next month. She’s seen here getting an honorary degree at Colorado College a year ago. (Wikimedia Commons/Canticle)
The governor brushed off a new federal lawsuit filed Thursday by the Beloved Church in Lena, just west of Freeport. Calling the church pastor “a bit of an outlier,” Pritzker said, “Most faith leaders have found new ways to connect with their parishioners” during the stay-at-home order. Without attacking the suit the way he did previous lawsuits filed earlier this week by Republican state representatives, he called on churches to “put the health and safety of their congregants first.”
Pritzker said he didn't expect churches to be shut down if they attempted to hold services in person. “There are consequences, of course,” he warned, “but we’ve been looking for people to do the right thing.”
Pritzker pointed out that nearby Rockford is “a hot spot in the state,” while the Illinois Department of Public Health has reported that Stephenson County, which includes Lena, has seen a recent spike in cases from 13 to 35 just over the last week.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Thursday that Chicago Public Schools will hold a virtual citywide high-school commencement celebration in mid-June for graduating seniors, with former TV host Oprah Winfrey giving the commencement address.
“The times we are living in are historic and stunning, forcing us all to take a deep look at who we are as a people and our place in the world,” Lightfoot said. “No one knows this better than Oprah, and I join all of Chicago in looking forward to hearing the wisdom she’ll be sharing with our incredible young people as they take this unforgettable next step on their life’s journey.”