CHICAGO — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker announced the opening of two new testing sites, one located in the Chicago suburb of Aurora and the other in Rockford. The site in Aurora can take up to 600 specimens per day. The Rockford site, scheduled to open Friday, can take up to 500 specimens per day.
Anyone with COVID-19 symptoms can get a test at these sites without doctors' orders, Pritzker said during his daily briefing Wednesday afternoon.
There have been 1,565 deaths due to the coronavirus in Illinois and 35,108 confirmed cases, as of April 22. A total of 164,346 tests have been performed.
Pritzker reiterated he is not ready to reopen the state without more testing, contact tracing and more personal protective equipment.
"Those are three things we need to work on," Pritzker said. "We're just not there yet. Some states are reopening anyway and that's their choice."
The state is under a stay-at-home order through the end of April. However, during his briefing Tuesday, Pritzker said the state is expected to reach its peak in mid-May, which could extend the order. He said a new order would likely extend at least 14 days past the peak.
"We're looking at an extension, but I can't tell you how long that might run," Pritzker said.
Pritzker holds daily briefings at 2:30 p.m.
