Almost 30k COVID-19 tests yield new one-day high for cases
Governor urges General Assembly to reconvene, pass rent, mortgage relief
Gov. Pritzker conducts the daily coronavirus briefing by video conference Tuesday with staff including a sign-language interpreter. (Illinois.gov)
By Ted Cox
A new high in the number of COVID-19 tests conducted in a day yielded a record high for new cases in Illinois Tuesday, but the governor insisted stable hospitalization levels kept the state on course to move into the next phase of recovery at the end of the month.
Illinois Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike reported during Tuesday’s daily coronavirus briefing that the state recorded 29,266 tests, easily surpassing the previous record of 20,671 set Friday. But with that came a record number of cases confirmed in a day, 4,014, bringing the state total to 83,021. Some 144 new deaths pushed the state toll to 3,601, but did not match the one-day high of 176 set last week.
Both Ezike and Gov. Pritzker said the increased number of tests and cases go hand in hand.
“We’re very pleased with the progress we’re making on testing,” Pritzker said. “The more you test, though, the more you find positive cases.”
Calling case numbers “less helpful,” Pritzker pointed out the stable hospitalization figures kept the state on course to move on to the third phase of the Restore Illinois recovery plan at the end of the month. “I expect that we will move into Phase 3 for most of the state on May 29,” he said. He pointed out Monday that northeast Illinois, including Chicago and its collar counties, was the only one of the four state regions lagging behind the goal of a 20 percent positivity rate on testing, but he reemphasized Tuesday that it’s a 14-day measurement so the region still has the chance to move forward to the “Recovery” phase opening barber shops, hair salons, and some other businesses at the end of the month.
“Much of the state it looks like, maybe the entire state, will begin to move into Phase 3 at the end of May, which is just a couple short weeks away,” Pritzker said.
Ezike said the state is conducting a seven-day average on tests, with a three-day lag to make assure accurate data. For the seven-day period ending May 9, the state posted an 18 percent positivity rate.
The governor restated that Restore Illinois sets “easier” guidelines than earlier White House recommendations to reopen the economy. “We don’t require downward trends,” he said. “We require stability.”
“It’s hard to know that this is the top until we head down,” Ezike said.
“The virus is still out there, and it’s still killing people,” Pritzker said.
Pointing out the state is fighting the coronavirus pandemic on two fronts — public health and the economy — Pritzker urged the General Assembly to reconvene to pass much-needed rent and mortgage relief for idled workers, as well as additional aid for hospitals.
Calling the economic impact “devastating,” Pritzker said, “Workers and their families are hurting.” He added, “The legislature must convene so that we can begin to put our financial and economic house back in order even as we battle this terrible virus. The General Assembly needs to pass a comprehensive plan to support families, small businesses, and small towns.”
Pritzker said it was up to legislators to arrive at logistics for social distancing they’ll be comfortable with at the Capitol, but he urged them to gather before the end of the month, to pass that state aid package and a budget for the next fiscal year.
Pritzker said the size of the aid package would depend on what additional relief states receive from the federal government. U.S. House Democrats on Tuesday unveiled a $3 trillion package known as the Heroes Act “including nearly $1 trillion to state, local, and tribal governments,” according to National Public Radio, “and another round of direct cash payments to Americans. It extends unemployment benefits to January, adds hazard pay for frontline workers, and expands testing efforts.” It would also bolster the U.S. Postal Service and fund mail-in balloting for the general election in November. Senate Republicans led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky have, however, insisted on legal protections for businesses facing potential lawsuits if they call employees back to work and they get sick with COVID-19.
“We believe there will be a package, and it will be passed over the next two, three weeks,” Pritzker said.
“We want to make sure people can pay their rent, and we want to provide the assistance that’s necessary for them to do that,” he added.
The governor freed up $25 million in fast-track grants for “shovel-ready projects” this summer, to be expedited out of the Rebuild Illinois capital plan.
Pritzker said the first day of enrolling for expanded unemployment benefits for self-employed workers under the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program had gone “reasonably well,” with 68,000 so-called gig workers enrolled and 50,000 claims filed. But he acknowledged that some 1099 workers, known by the income statement they file with tax returns, were being ruled ineligible because they also had salaried W-2 income. He called on Congress to address that snag in the federal plan.
Pritzker and Ezike both smiled at a question asking if it were possible for a family to hire a mariachi band for a graduation celebration. Pritzker wondered aloud “whether they could social-distance enough,” but quickly added, “I want to find ways for people to celebrate” the achievements they normally would this spring.