Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks to the media during his daily press briefing on COVID-19 on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. (WTTW News)
Indoor service at bars and restaurants has been suspended in 10 of the state’s 11 regions to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Starting Wednesday, those restrictions will extend to North-Central Illinois — region 2 under the state’s resurgence plan.
State officials are relying on local governments and law enforcement to enforce those measures, but some are openly defying the plan, from the Chicago-area suburbs to Springfield.
During a press briefing Tuesday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker had a message for those who plan to ignore the state-imposed mitigations.
“Local officials who are not doing the right thing are going to be the ones responsible for our rates of infection going through the roof and our hospitals getting overrun and (people) dying, if they don’t enforce the rules,” Pritzker said. “We know the places that are remaining open and defying these rules are, in fact, spreading locations. These places are amplifying the virus across the state.”
On Tuesday, state health officials reported 6,516 new cases of COVID-19 and 68 virus-related deaths, bringing statewide totals to 430,018 cases and 9,878 deaths since the pandemic first took hold in Illinois.
As of Monday night, 3,594 people were hospitalized with COVID-19, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. Of those, 755 patients were in intensive care units and 326 on ventilators.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity rate for cases is 8.2%. A week ago, that rate was 6.4%, according to IDPH data.
Test positivity across the state — the number of positive tests as a percentage of total tests — is 9.9%. That rate is slightly higher in Chicago (10.2%) and Cook County (10.5%), IDPH regional data shows.
The governor on Tuesday also responded to reports of election night watch parties planned at bars and restaurants.
“Local officials, local law enforcement should be standing up and enforcing the rules in the state. And you know why? Because weeks from now, people will end up going to the hospital as a result of these gatherings,” Pritzker said. “(Local officials) need to enforce the rules so we don’t end up with a terrible nightmare of a situation and people dying because they can’t even get treated in the hospital.”
Pritzker says he plans to watch election results at home and encouraged others to do the same.
Contact Kristen Thometz: @kristenthometz | (773) 509-5452 | [email protected]
