As protesters circulated public buildings in downtown Chicago and Springfield decrying Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s latest stay-at-home order, health officials on Friday said another 105 people have died from COVID-19 while a record-high 3,137 new cases were confirmed.
The deaths raised Illinois’ coronavirus toll to 2,457 while with the new cases, the state has seen 56,055 people test positive for the virus.
The state received more than 14,000 test results on Thursday, bringing the tally of tests performed to more than 284,000, according to the Illinois Dept. of Public Health.
The virus has been confirmed in 97 of the state’s 102 counties.
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Ventilator use by COVID-19 patients decreased by 8 patients within a 24-hour span, although the deaths recorded on Friday could account for that decrease, Pritzker’s office said.
The number of coronavirus patients in the state’s hospital was also down by 53 patients, and the number of patients in the ICU was down by 26 patients.
Pritzker on Friday planned to outline the state’s plan to conduct contact tracing. The Democratic governor has said the key to reopening the state is more testing and tracing to prevent the spread of the virus. The CDC has recommended the tracing and monitoring of contacts of infected people.
Friday marked the first day of the governor’s extended stay-at-home executive order, which has sparked protests in downtown Chicago and in Springfield. The governor is now facing lawsuits stemming from the orders as well.
It also marked the first day Illinois residents are required to wear face coverings in businesses that are open and when social distancing can’t be maintained.
