Evanston reported 12 new COVID-19 cases today bringing the city’s total to 240, and statewide there were 1,151 new cases raising the total to 31,508.
It was the third-highest single-day count of new cases in Evanston during the pandemic, although the state has reported more new cases on about 14 previous days.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker, at his news conference this afternoon, said it’s clear the state still has not reached the peak of coronavirus cases. He repeated the view that Illinois will need to see at least 14 days of declining case counts before it would be reasonable to consider significantly relaxing his stay-at-home order.
Chicago reported 480 new cases today, for a total of 13,013.
Evanston’s death toll from COVID-19 remained at eight today. Chicago reported 22 new deaths for a total of 514, and the statewide count increased by 57 to a total of 1,349.
Pritzker said the number of Illinois residents hospitalized for COVID-19 has gradually increased over the past two weeks — from 3,680 on April 6 to 4,599 on Sunday.
But he added that projections in early March had forecast that — without measures like social distancing — the state’s health care system would now be overwhelmed with more than 25,000 patients hospitalized with the disease.
And he praised residents for following the stay-at-home restrictions that he credited for the state having averted that disaster.