NOTE: Watch the governor's briefing live in the player above beginning at 2 p.m.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is set to deliver an update on the state's coronavirus response on Wednesday.
The governor is scheduled to a hold a news conference at 2 p.m. in Chicago, according to his public schedule. The event was originally scheduled for 12 p.m. before Pritzker's office announced Wednesday morning that it would be shifted later.
While it's not clear what the governor is expected to say during the update, the news conference comes as the state's positivity rate in testing ticked up yet again the day before.
Health officials on Tuesday reported 1,740 new cases of coronavirus across the state, along with 27 additional deaths. That brought the state's total number of cases to 209,594, and deaths to 7,782.
Tuesday's new test results bring the state’s 7-day rolling positivity rate up by one-tenth of a percent, from 4.2% to 4.3%, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Pritzker's Wednesday update also comes as schools and students prepare to return to classes.
Local
For weeks, NBC 5 Investigates has been looking at the positivity rates for the area's top college communities. The data shows several areas surrounding Illinois' public universities are seeing metrics rise.
Pritzker's last public update was on Monday, when he detailed new coronavirus restrictions that took effect the following day in the Metro East area downstate, one of Illinois' 11 health care regions.
That region, Region 4 ,includes Bond, Clinton, Madison, Monroe, Randolph, St. Clair and Washington counties.
For the three days before IDPH announced new restrictions on Sunday, the region reported three consecutive days of positivity rates above 8%, automatically triggering new restrictions under the state’s regional mitigation plan.
According to state health data, the region had a positivity rate of 8.5% over the previous seven days, and saw admissions increases in hospitals over the last two days.
The new restrictions include the closing of bars, restaurants and casinos in the region by 11 p.m., the closing of all party buses and the reduction of gathering sizes to 25 people or 25 percent of room capacity, whichever is lower. The restrictions will remain in effect for 14 days.
