BREAKING NEWS: Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said today “greater mitigations” are coming if covid-19 numbers continue to spike massively in the state.

Illinois Department of Public Health officials reported 4,451 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 40 related deaths Wednesday, that news following the state hitting its highest one-day total in covid cases since late January and its highest week for infections in months last week.

“If we are not able to bring these numbers down, if hospitals continue to fill, if the hospital beds and ICUs get full like they are in Kentucky – that’s just next door to Illinois – if that happens, we’re going to have to impose significantly greater mitigations,” Gov. Pritzker said in a press conference today.

Pritzker did not mention specific steps he would take to enforce greater mitigations, or what mitigations would be put in place. He did state he hopes he does not have to put further mitigations in place.

This comes just days after new indoor mask mandates go into effect throughout the entirety of Cook County, requiring everyone over the age of two to be masked in indoor public spaces, regardless of whether they’re vaccinated. Businesses also must post signs on all entrances telling customers about the rule.

Given that the new, wider mask mandates into Cook County come a week after Chicago began the trend towards a return to mask mandates,

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker

there’s speculation that the mandates could spread throughout the state, returning other areas to masking rules.

Pritzker reiterated Illinois may impose greater mitigations if available hospital beds continue to be in a danger zone and covid numbers continue to spike. Some downstate zones are at or near the 12 percent number of infections needed to trigger a lockdown, and there is currently only one ICU bed available for a 20-county region in downtstate Illinois.

Last week’s seven-day average of new covid cases was the largest since spring. Illinois reported 4,904 new confirmed and probable coronavirus cases Friday, the largest day since late January.

According to numbers released today, there are 2,197 patients in Illinois in the hospital with COVID-19, and 515 in the ICU, with 240 patients on ventilators.

For more free, fact-based reporting and information, watch your free, fact-based local alternative media, QuadCities.com.

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Sean Leary Director of Digital Media

Sean Leary is an author, director, artist, musician, producer and entrepreneur who has been writing professionally since debuting at age 11 in the pages of the Comics Buyers Guide. An honors graduate of the University of Southern California masters program, he has written over 50 books including the best-sellers The Arimathean, Every Number is Lucky to Someone and We Are All Characters.