CHICAGO — Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker gave an update on the state's response to the COVID-19 pandemic Friday afternoon.
Click here to view the full press conference.
Cases in Illinois:
On May 1, the Illinois Department of Health announced 3,137 new cases, bringing the total to 56,055 cases.
An additional 105 people have died, bringing the total deaths to 2,457.
Gov. Pritzker announced starting on May 1, everyone who is able to wear a face mask will be required to wear one when going out into public anywhere they can’t keep a 6-foot distance.
On April 25, Gov. Pritzker and Dr. Ngozi Ezike with the Illinois Department of Public Health cautioned against the ingesting, injecting or snorting of household cleaners, citing an increased amount of calls to the Illinois Poison Center.
The state saw a large increase in cases on April 24 because it administered its largest number of tests, officials said. Gov. Pritzker said the state met its goal of 10,000 COVID-19 tests per day.
"Testing is really key to everything else we need to do, to get Illinois moving again," he said.
Patients have ranged in age from younger than 1 to 99 years old, the Illinois Department of Public Health said.
Most of the cases and deaths have been in the Chicago area.
IDPH said the number of COVID-19 cases being reported is rising quickly partly because testing is becoming easier, but also because the virus is spreading across communities.
On April 23, Gov. Pritzker extended the stay-at-home order for Illinois through May 30. The new order also requires people over the age of 2 to wear facemasks when going out in public.
On April 17, he announced students will stay home from school through the rest of the school year.
On April 2, the state launched a new statewide initiative called “All in Illinois” to reinforce the state’s message during the coronavirus pandemic: stay home and stay safe.
As Illinois residents practice social distancing, the initiative is a way to “unite residents across the state and remind them we are all in this together.”
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The state has issued a disaster proclamation. Gov. Pritzker called the proclamation an "operational procedure" that opens up Illinois to receive more state and federal resources and tools in how it handles coronavirus cases. The proclamation also would allow Illinois to be eligible to receive federal reimbursement.
On March 25, Gov. Pritzker announced the state would delay its tax filing date to July 15, which is the same date the federal tax deadline was moved to. He also announced two new loan programs for small businesses.
He also announced a new initiative, Illinois COVID-19 Response Fund, that will support nonprofits across the state. Gov. Pritzker said about $23 million has been raised for the fund so far. If you’d like to donate to the fund, click here.
On March 27, Gov. Pritzker announced more than 500 former medical professionals have submitted applications to come back to work to support the state’s coronavirus response.