Coronavirus Illinois: Dr. Emily Landon's passionate plea to residents before IL lifts stay-at-home order

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A Chicago doctor who pleaded passionately for residents to take action to prevent the spread of coronavirus is back with a new message as Illinois prepares to slowly reopen.

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Dr. Emily Landon, the chief infectious epidemiologist at the University of Chicago Medicine, joined Gov. JB Pritzker's COVID-19 briefing Tuesday afternoon.

In order to maintain the progress we've already made during the stay-at-home order, Dr. Landon shared the three things every resident must do as Illinois prepares to move to the next phase of reopening in less than 10 days.

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"We need masks, we need hand hygiene and we need distance to make this work," Dr. Landon said. "And we do need to be all in to be successful."

She warned that without residents taking these precautions, Illinois could see another spike in COVID-19 infections and deaths.

"Your mask is your lifeline," she said. "Soon, I promise, it will be as natural as wearing pants, which most of us are pretty good about."

You can watch Dr. Landon's full message in the player above.

Illinois health officials announced 146 additional deaths and 1,545 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday. That brings the statewide total to 98,030, including 4,379 deaths.

The Illinois Department of Public Health has created a hotline at 1-800-889-3931. More information can be found at the IDPH website and the Chicago Department of Public Health website