(WTTW News)

As Illinois nears the 2 million mark in total COVID-19 tests conducted since the start of the pandemic, health officials reported an additional 954 cases of the virus on Sunday — and a record number of specimens tested in a single day: 38,894.

Last week, the state announced it had added 12 mobile testing teams to its arsenal as part of its efforts to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Another 20 deaths linked to the coronavirus were reported Sunday by the Illinois Department of Public Health, bringing the total number of deaths to 7,187. The virus has been found in each of Illinois’ 102 counties.

The state’s seven-day positivity rate — the number of people who test positive for COVID-19 as a percentage of overall tests — remains at 3%, according to the IDPH. 

As of Saturday night, 1,342 people were being treated for the virus in Illinois hospitals, according to the IDPH. Among them, 311 patients were in the intensive care unit and 127 were on ventilators, the department said.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker took to Twitter over the weekend to encourage residents to wear face masks amid the recent uptick in COVID-19 cases. “I know everyone wants to get back to normal, but we can’t wish away the virus or pretend the pandemic is over. It’s not,” he tweeted Sunday, along with a video calling out common excuses for not covering up.

“Less excuses. More face coverings,” he wrote.

I know everyone wants to get back to normal, but we can’t wish away the virus or pretend the pandemic is over. It’s not.

We all have to do our part.

Less excuses. More face coverings. #AllInIllinois pic.twitter.com/Ez47xjVYTy

— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) July 12, 2020