coronavirus illinois

Watch Live: Gov. Pritzker to Deliver Coronavirus Update at 2:30 p.m.

Note: The press conference can be streamed live in the player above beginning at 2:30 p.m. CST

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is expected to deliver a coronavirus update on Monday, days after warning that the state is trending in a "concerning direction" and just hours after Chicago officials said the city is experiencing a "second surge" of the pandemic.

Pritzker will deliver the update at 2:30 p.m. from the Jackson County Health Department in Murphysboro, according to his public schedule.

He last gave an update on Wednesday, when he said that the coronavirus testing positivity rate has risen in all 11 of the state's health care regions.

"Unfortunately, all 11 regions have seen an increase in positivity compared to where we were at last week’s update," Pritzker said last week. "Statewide, our positivity rate has grown by more than one full percentage point in the last week alone. And in most regions, COVID-like hospital admissions have increased in the same time period."

"To date, Illinois has had relative success in keeping this virus at bay, and we’re still doing better than many of our neighbors, but we can’t let up – and these numbers are indicating a concerning direction," he continued.

Illinois health officials on Sunday reported more than 4,000 new coronavirus cases for the third time in four days as the positivity rate continued to climb.

According to new data from the Illinois Department of Public Health, 4,245 new cases of coronavirus were confirmed Sunday, the second-largest single day increase in the number of cases since the pandemic began.

The positivity rate in the state of Illinois kept up its rapid rise, as the seven-day rate now stands at 5.3%. That number is the highest the state has reported since early June, and comes as the state has reported nearly 25,000 cases in the last week, the highest seven-day total since the pandemic began.

In all, 344,048 cases of the virus have been confirmed in the state during the pandemic. On Sunday, health officials confirmed 22 additional deaths, bringing the total number of coronavirus-related fatalities to 9,214.

A total of 79,296 tests were returned to state laboratories Sunday, meaning that the state has performed 6,775,553 total tests during the pandemic.

More than 2,000 Illinois residents remain hospitalized as a result of the virus, with 408 requiring intensive care unit beds, according to IDPH data.

Pritzker's update comes just hours after Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the city's top doctor warned the city is in a "second surge" of the pandemic, warning that some restrictions could soon return.

"This is the second surge that Dr. Fauci and Dr. Arwady have been warning about since March," Lightfoot said. "And we are now in it."

She added that while the surge is not surprising, she attributed it largely to the fact that "COVID thrives in enclosed spaces."

"We've been talking about these kinds of risks now from the very beginning," she said.

Currently, Chicago is reporting an average of more than 500 new coronavirus cases daily, the "highest daily rate since the tail end of the first surge at the end of May," officials said.

As of Monday, Chicago was seeing a 7-day rolling average of 508 new cases per day, according to the city's coronavirus data dashboard. That marks a significant increase from the roughly 300 new cases per day rolling average the city was seeing just three weeks earlier when restrictions were eased, allowing indoor bar service again and raising capacity limits on businesses, including restaurants, among other major changes.

Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady urged residents to not allow anyone into their homes or apartments as the city experiences multiple coronavirus "warning signs."

"Please do not invite anyone over to your house or apartment," Arwady said. "This is not the time for non-essential gatherings, period."

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