Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker is publicly thanking California Governor Gavin Newsom after 100 ventilators were delivered to the state of Illinois this week.
“It’s truly incredible to work with elected officials across the nation who are providing real leadership,” Pritzker said in a series of tweets thanking Newsom.
The ventilators arrived in Illinois as the state moves toward what it believes will be its peak in coronavirus cases. More than 13,000 Illinois residents have contracted the virus and 380 have died, but officials believe that the peak in virus cases could be reached within the next 10-to-14 days.
During his Tuesday press conference, Pritzker said that the state is continuing to work to procure more ventilators, and has received 600 from the federal government.
“I am grateful for all of those ventilators,” Pritzker said.
More ventilators are expected to arrive this month, according to Pritzker, as the state has placed orders for approximately 3,620 of the devices.
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Pritzker also pledged to pay California’s favor forward, saying that once Illinois is past its peak in cases it will look to send ventilators to states that will need them in the future.
“My pledge to the state of California and to every other state and territory is that when we can, once we are past our peak, Illinois will pay it forward,” he said. “We will pay it forward in any way that we can including passing along those ventilators to the next hot spot in the nation.”
Pritzker did caution residents that the best way to contain the spread of the virus, and to prevent health care systems from becoming overburdened, is to continue to abide by “stay-at-home” orders, even with religious holidays and warm weather days on the horizon.
“I too, would do just about anything for an immediate solution to this,” he said. “That solution isn’t coming tomorrow or next week.”
