Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 3,629 new known COVID-19 cases and 27 additional deaths reported Saturday
The Illinois Department of Public Health on Saturday reported 3,629 newly confirmed cases of coronavirus, as well as 27 more confirmed fatalities.
The total number of known infections now stands at 339,803 and the death toll to 9,192 statewide since the pandemic began.
A day earlier, the daily count of COVID-19 cases reported in Illinois was 4,544, well above the previous record high of 4,015 set just a day before that. The state also said the seven-day average of tests coming back as positive has climbed to 5.1%, surpassing a threshold recommended by the WHO for safely reopening economies.
“I am deeply concerned,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Friday at a news conference in Elgin. “Let me be clear, we are in a new wave here. Anybody that hasn’t noticed this, turn on the television. We’re in a new wave of COVID-19, rising cases, rising positivity all across the nation, not just in the state of Illinois.”
Here’s what’s happening this weekend with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
3,629 new known COVID-19 cases and 27 additional deaths reported
The Illinois Department of Public Health on Saturday reported 3,629 newly confirmed cases of coronavirus, as well as 27 more confirmed fatalities.
The total number of known infections now stands at 339,803 and the death toll to 9,192 statewide since the pandemic began.
Trump returns to Wisconsin for large rally as coronavirus cases hit record levels
Just five days removed from his White House coronavirus quarantine, President Donald Trump is set to visit Wisconsin this weekend as the state suffers from a record-high surge in coronavirus cases.
Trump originally had planned to hold the Janesville rally two weeks ago, but instead spent the day hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center infected with COVID-19.
Two weeks later, Trump will finally arrive in Wisconsin with polls showing the president falling further behind in the state, trailing by as many as 10 points since his diagnosis stunned the nation.
Trump will touch down in Air Force One after Wisconsin set a state record on Thursday and again on Friday for new COVID-19 cases, taxing hospital capacity to the point where some patients were being treated in hallways and leading Gov. Tony Evers to open an emergency field hospital at the state fairgrounds in suburban Milwaukee.
Rural Midwest hospitals struggling to handle virus surge: ‘I don’t see the end in sight’
Rural Jerauld County in South Dakota didn’t see a single case of the coronavirus for more than two months stretching from June to August. But over the last two weeks, its rate of new cases per person soared to one of the highest in the nation.
“All of a sudden it hit, and as it does, it just exploded,” said Dr. Tom Dean, one of just three doctors who work in the county.
As the brunt of the virus has blown into the Upper Midwest and northern Plains, the severity of outbreaks in rural communities has come into focus. Doctors and health officials in small towns worry that infections may overwhelm communities with limited medical resources.
And many say they are still running up against attitudes on wearing masks that have hardened along political lines and a false notion that rural areas are immune to widespread infections.
Northwestern’s Kellogg School goes remote for two weeks after more than 50 students linked to multiple off-campus gatherings and 4 catch COVID-19
Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management announced Friday evening that it will suspend in-person classes for two weeks after four students who attended recent off-campus gatherings tested positive for COVID-19.
The temporary shift comes days after a similar scenario at the University of Chicago, where more than 100 business school students were directed to quarantine because of potential exposure during an off-campus social event.
COVID-19 numbers are rising in Illinois. How worried should the Chicago area be?
Illinois just announced a record number of new COVID-19 cases. Positivity rates for coronavirus testing are up too. So are hospitalizations and deaths.
But a deeper look at the data can soften the sense of alarm somewhat — at least for the Chicago area, where many pandemic metrics have remained steady for months until some recent upticks. And the state as a whole is still in better shape than its neighbors on most of those same statistics.
As a pandemic-weary public braces for winter, the latest Illinois figures have prompted researchers and public health officials to offer a mix of warnings and reassurance. They worry a second surge may be starting in Illinois while also noting that the shifting pandemic threatens some areas more than others.
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