Illinois COVID-19: IL reports 10,631 new coronavirus cases, 72 deaths
Chicago stay-at-home advisory starts Monday
JOLIET, Ill. (WLS) -- Illinois public health officials reported 10,631 new COVID-19 confirmed and probable cases, and 72 deaths Sunday.
A stay-at-home advisory goes into effect at 6 a.m. Monday for Chicago and several surrounding communities in the wake of surging cases across the region. Cook County's and Evanston's advisories align with Chicago's.
Despite existing restrictions, a Joliet pancake house was busy Sunday, with customers sitting inside in defiance of the state-imposed indoor dining ban for Will and Kankakee counties.
"We have to start standing up to our governor. We can't keep living in fear. I personally am sick of it," said Chrissy Laage, who was among Will County residents gathered Sunday in defiance of the governor's orders. "I'm tired of seeing my family members struggling to pay their bills because they don't have any income, and unemployment's run out and they have no options."
Gov. JB Pritzker said Saturday that the surge in cases is leading to a shortage of ICU beds statewide.
According to new data just released by the Illinois Department of Public Health, in the past week, there has been an average of nearly 5,000 COVID-19 patients in hospital beds across the state. The highest average on record.
"The numbers are staggering. These are numbers we haven't seen before. We certainly didn't see it before in the first wave of the pandemic in the spring," said Dr. Robert Citronberg with Advocate Aurora Health.
Just 19 ICU beds remain open in Will and Kankakee counties.
Nearly one in five tests are now coming back positive in that region. Doctors say their big concern as more and more people require hospitalization is staffing because they can expand the number of beds available, but what they are starting to lack is enough doctors and nurses to care for those in need.
IDPH metrics show the virus-related numbers will continue to rise, and that is why the state is asking people to stay home to help bend the curve.
Citronberg said the holidays could be disastrous if Illinoisans aren't safe.
"They have the potential to become super-spreader events, and if you think the numbers are bad now wait about two weeks after Thanksgiving," he said. "If you challenge the virus, you will lose. And your family will lose. And it's hard to believe we're still talking about this in November."
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The total number of cases in Illinois now stands at 573,616, with a total of 10,742 deaths.
Over a 24-hour period, officials said the state processed 84,831 tests.
In total there have been 9,070,841 specimens tested since the start of the pandemic in Illinois.
WATCH: Gov. Pritzker gives COVID-19 Update on Nov. 13, 2020
The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from Nov. 8-14, is 14.8%.
As of Saturday night, 5,474 people in Illinois were reported to be hospitalized with COVID-19. Of those, 1,045 patients were in the ICU with COVID-19 and 490 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
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Pritzker threatened that if things don't improve across the state, another lockdown may be the only option left, and said that the state has reached "crisis" level.
Gov. Pritzker also announced another extension of the state's renter eviction moratorium. The current moratorium was set to expire Saturday, and advocates of tenants were warning about the possibility of mass evictions.
"We need a new congressional stimulus for people in this country as soon as possible," he said. "But because we can't just wait around for the Republicans in the U.S. Senate to take action, I'll also be extending the moratorium on evictions for an additional 30 days."
Families push for in-person learning in north suburbs despite surging COVID-19 cases, threat of new shutdown
A small group of families came together Saturday to push for in-person learning in districts in the northern suburbs. The parents represent several districts and want schools to come up with a concrete plan to return to the classroom.
Illinois closing Driver Services for 3 weeks as virus surges
Illinois driver service facilities will close for weeks because of the worsening COVID-19 pandemic.
The facilities will close Tuesday and are expected to reopen Dec. 7, according to Secretary of State Jesse White's office.
Expiration dates for driver's licenses and ID cards have been extended to June 1 as a result of the ongoing coronavirus crisis, the office said.
The IDPH said Sunday it was closing testing sites in Arlington Heights, Waukegan, South Holland and Aurora due to high winds. They were expected to reopen Monday. The Harwood Heights location would remain open.
The deaths reported Sunday included:
- Adams County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 90s
- Brown County: 1 male 80s
- Bureau County: 1 female 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s
- Carroll County: 1 male 80s
- Clinton County: 1 male 60s
- Cook County: 3 males 50s, 4 males 60s, 2 females 70s, 2 males 70s, 5 females 80s, 5 males 80s
- DuPage County: 1 female 70s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 90s, 1 male 90s
- Effingham County: 1 female 90s
- Hancock County: 1 female 90s
- Iroquois County: 1 female 60s
- Johnson County: 1 female 70s
- Kane County: 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s, 1 male 90s
- Lake County: 1 male 60s, 1 male 90s
- LaSalle County: 1 male 70s, 3 males 80s
- Macon County: 1 male 80s
- Macoupin County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 90s
- Madison County: 1 male 60s, 1 female 70s
- Marion County: 1 male 80s, 2 males 90s
- Marshall County: 1 male 70s
- McHenry County: 1 male 80s
- Moultrie County: 1 male 70s
- Ogle County: 1 female 50s, 1 male 90s
- Peoria County: 1 female 70s, 1 male 90s
- Rock Island County: 1 male 50s
- Sangamon County: 1 female 70s
- Wayne County: 1 male 60s
- Will County: 1 female 80s, 1 male 90s
- Williamson County: 1 male 70s
- Winnebago County: 1 female 50s, 1 male 60s, 1 female 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s
