ILLINOIS — Confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Illinois jumped overnight from 64 on Saturday to 93 on Sunday, including for a woman in her 60s in Clinton County.
Officials say the woman isn’t a Clinton County resident but is staying in the area. She is currently under self-quarantine and has not traveled outside the country.
According to Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Mgozi Ezike, the virus is now confirmed in 13 Illinois counties.
On Sunday five new counties were confirmed with a positive test— Champaign, Clinton, Sangamon, Whiteside, and Winnebago counties.
Other locations with cases include Chicago and Cook, Cumberland, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, St. Clair, and Woodford counties.
Ezike says they are seeing the number of COVID-19 cases increase exponentially and in more locations across Illinois and at this point, it is best to assume that the Coronavirus is circulating in your community and you should take the same precautions when interacting with other people that you would when interacting with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.
He says this may seem like an extreme step, but this is how to reduce the number of new cases and prevent the health care system from being overwhelmed.
Social distancing measures, such as working from home when possible, limiting the amount of time spent in the community, and trying to avoid public transportation as much as possible, will help reduce the number of people who become sick at any given time and the possibility of exhausting our health care resources.
Gov. JB Pritzker on Sunday ordered all bars and restaurants to be closed to inside customers until March 30. Drive-thru and curbside service will still be allowed at this time.
On Friday Pritzker ordered all public and private schools closed across the state starting Tuesday and continuing until at least March 30. However, Carlyle schools have announced they will not be open Monday.