SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 488 new cases of COVID-19 in Illinois, including eight deaths.
Approximately 86% of fatalities are among patients 60 years of age and older.
Bureau, Henry, and Iroquois counties are now reporting cases. Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 3,026 cases, including 34 deaths, in 40 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to 99 years.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said at his daily address Friday that the state of Illinois has seen a significant uptick of health-care workers getting back into the field.
“We have now received more than 510 applications from former health-care workers to get back into the fight,” said Pritzker.
Pritzker also again urged President Donald Trump to activate the Defense Production Act to get the appropriate amount of PPE and ventilators across the country.
“The President needs to use the Defense Production Act to put order into the market for ventilators and PPE,” said Pritzker. “Without the federal government, individual states do not have enough market power to procure what is needed on their own.”
