Citing coronavirus experts at the nation's leading health care institutions, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Monday the coronavirus pandemic is only going to get worse as the weather gets cooler and more activity is driven aside.
Experts at universities such as John Hopkins University, Northwester University and the University of Illinois, Pritzker said, have "challenged Americans to recognize we are at war and to act accordingly."
As Illinois reported more than 10,000 coronavirus cases for the fourth day in a row Monday, the governor hinted at the possibility of declaring another stay-at-home order.
"...As I've told you, for days, you know, we are looking at really all the possibilities - the possibility that we would have to go back a phase, the possibility that we would have to ultimately have a stay-at-home order - those are not things that I prefer to do," he said. "But those are things that these numbers are not sustainable."
Illinois' average daily coronavirus case numbers have increased nearly 380% since Oct. 1, Pritzker said. It's important to note, however, that the state recently changed its reporting of daily cases, adding in "probable" cases, which include positive results from rapid antigen tests in the state.
Statewide test positivity is up more than 180% in the last five weeks and hospitalizations and deaths are each up more than 150% for the same time period, he added.
Local
Starting Wednesday, several Illinois regions are expected to enter even tighter mitigations to curb the spread of coronavirus in both southern Illinois and part of the Chicago area.
In the city of Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot's office said restrictions will be coming in the near future, but won't be put in effect this week.
Already all of Illinois is under increased mitigations imposed by the state on a region-by-region basis.
