Evanston reported eight new COVID-19 cases today raising the total here to 144. The statewide count rose by 1,344 to a total of 16,422.
There were 556 new cases in Chicago for a total of 6,648.
The state reported 66 new deaths today for a total of 528. Chicago reported 21 new deaths for a total of 198. Evanston reported one new death today for a total of four.
The chart above shows Evanston’s daily count of new cases along with the seven-day-average of new cases, which smooths day-to-day variations and may provide a better indication of when the city has started to “bend-the-curve” enough to signal that the peak of the pandemic here has passed.
The equivalent data for the state as a whole is shown below.
At his news conference this afternoon, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the rate of increase in cases is looking “less and less exponential” that the state appears to be “bending the curve” but that doesn’t mean cases are yet declining and the improvement has only happened because people have been observing social distancing rules.
Asked what he would say to planners of big summer events, he said, “I think everybody needs to think seriously about canceling large summer events. I don’t see how you can have large gatherings of people until we have a vaccine. I would not risk having large groups of people get together anywhere” this summer.