Governor JB Pritzker says if COVID-19 numbers don’t improve, some sort of Stay at Home order may be enacted in the coming days.
COVID-19 hospitalizations are at an all-time high in Illinois and cases have increased by 459 percent since October 1st.
There were 12,702 new cases reported on Thursday along with 43 additional deaths.
The State Department of Public Health is asking everyone to avoid unnecessary activities and travel over the next three weeks and to work from home if possible. Pritzker says if communities don’t take this seriously, this could become a state mandate.
“The numbers don’t lie. If things don’t take a turn in the coming days, we will quickly reach the point when some form of a mandatory stay at home order is all that will be left. With every fiber of my being, I don’t want us to get there, but right now that appears to be where we are headed.”
Besides limiting going out, the Governor asks people to avoid even small gatherings with people outside of your household.
The statewide positivity rate for the past seven days is now 12.6-percent. The positivity rate in the Southern Illinois region that includes Marion, Jefferson, and Wayne Counties is 12.5-percent. The Marion County rate has increased to 11-percent. The Metro East Region that includes Clinton, Washington, and Bond Counties, the positivity rate is up to 13.9-percent. The East Central Illinois region that includes Fayette, Effingham and Clay Counties is up to 12.7-percent.
