NOTE: NBC Chicago will offer a live feed of the press conference beginning at 12 p.m. CST in the player above
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is set to give a coronavirus update Wednesday afternoon, one week after announcing the state's updated, more focused response to the pandemic - including potential restrictions that could be imposed should cases continue to rise.
The press conference is scheduled to take place at noon from the Thompson Center in downtown Chicago.
Details on what Pritzker would be discussing weren't immediately known. His last coronavirus briefing was exactly one week prior, in which he announced that the state would be further divided from four into 11 regions to allow health officials to apply a more focused approach to each area's coronavirus response as the pandemic continues.
Pritzker also announced new criteria under which the state's reopening plan may be rolled back in each of the regions, as well as what those rollbacks would entail, ranging from reducing capacity at businesses in various industries to shutting down operations in some of the spaces that pose a higher risk of transmission.
The metrics used to determine whether additional mitigations would be needed, according to the governor's office, are as follows:
- Sustained increase in 7-day rolling average (7 out of 10 days) in the positivity rate and one of the following severity indicators:
- Sustained 7-day increase in hospital admissions for a COVID-19 like illness
- Reduction in hospital capacity threatening surge capabilities (ICU capacity or medical/surgical beds < 20%)
- OR three consecutive days averaging ≥ 8% positivity rate
Pritzker has repeatedly said he "will not hesitate" to reimpose some restrictions meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus if those metrics continue to rise.
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"We're watching these numbers very, very closely. I don't wake up on any day and not look at those numbers first thing," Pritzker said last week. "We've been very measured about how we've reopened our state, and there are many people that complain that where we are now isn't open enough. And so I would just say that I will not hesitate to reimpose some mitigations if we see our numbers moving upward."
Illinois health officials reported 955 new cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, as well as 23 additional deaths as a result of the virus. Those new cases bring the state’s total number of coronavirus cases to 163,703 since the pandemic began, with 7,324 total fatalities.
Illinois reported 29,745 tests within the most recent 24-hour span, a decrease from previous days, which saw testing numbers above 30,000. Last week, the state set three daily testing records, nearing the 40,000 mark.
According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, the rolling 7-day positivity rate increased very slightly, from 3.1 percent.
According to hospitalization data, the state remains near its low watermarks for hospitalizations and ventilator usage since such data became publicly available in April. As of Tuesday, 1,466 patients are currently hospitalized in Illinois due to coronavirus, with 320 of those patients in intensive care units.
