CHICAGO — Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is giving an update on the state's coronavirus response during a 2:30 p.m. briefing.
Pritzker said at the briefing that 2,126 new cases have been reported in the state.
As of Sunday, there are a total of 43,903 confirmed coronavirus cases in the state, including people who have already recovered.
In the last 24 hours, 59 more people have died from the virus, amounting to 1933 total coronavirus deaths in the state.
Of those in the hospital with the coronavirus, 1,267 people are in the ICU and 772 are on ventilators.
Cases of the virus have been confirmed in 96 of Illinois' 102 counties.
5 On Your Side asked during the questions portion of the briefing whether Pritzker had spoken with Gov. Parson about plans for the metro St. Louis region and how the two states might work together.
Pritzker said he had not, also saying that the difference between the two states' coronavirus responses could be responsible for the number of cases seen on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River.
“I know he’s gone in a different direction than we have," Pritzker said. "We obviously have challenges on our side of the border. It’s likely because of the difference between the two state's orders that there’s been more of a hotspot on our side, but it’s unclear about that. What I do know is that county health officials there are coordinating across the boundaries.”
Parson said during his briefing Friday that he was moving forward with plans to reopen Missouri on May 4. He also signed an executive order to extend Missouri's state of emergency through June 15.
Pritzker announced Thursday that he will extend Illinois' stay-at-home order through May. The new order also requires people to wear face masks if they are over the age of 2 and medically able to do so.
Pritzker said he will sign the official extension this week and it will take effect on May 1.
The state is projected to see a peak or plateau of deaths per day between late April and early May, Pritzker said.
During his coronavirus briefing Friday, Pritzker said the state met its goal of 10,000 COVID-19 tests per day. On Sunday, Pritzker said more than 13,000 new tests had been administered in the last 24 hours.
"Testing is really key to everything else we need to do, to get Illinois moving again," he said.
