NOTE: Watch Gov. J.B. Pritzker's daily coronavirus press briefing live at 2:30 p.m. in the player above.
Illinois health officials reported 12,601 new confirmed and probable coronavirus cases on Tuesday and 97 additional deaths.
Tuesday's data from the Illinois Department of Public Health marked the 12th consecutive day in which the state has seen more than 10,000 new coronavirus cases.
Those figures brought the total number of cases in the state to 597,849 since the pandemic began and lifted the death toll to 10,875, IDPH said.
A total of 94,205 new tests were performed over the last 24 hours, according to state health officials. In all, 9,255,658 tests have been performed during the pandemic.
The state’s rolling seven-day average positivity rate held steady at 12.5% after fluctuating nearly three points in the previous week. Sunday's positivity rate was 12.8%, which was up from 12.6% on Saturday, 13.2% on Friday, 12.6% on Thursday, 12.4% on Wednesday and 12% on Tuesday. It was 11.4% the previous Monday and 10.6% on Nov. 8.
The state saw its hospitalization numbers jump Tuesday with 5,887 residents currently in hospitals due to coronavirus-like illnesses, an increase of more than 300 patients in the last 24 hours. Of those patients, 1,158 are currently in intensive care units, and 545 are on ventilators, also marking increases for both.
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All three statistics are the highest metrics the state has seen in their respective categories since the first peak in COVID-19 cases earlier this year.
Stay-at-home advisories took effect Monday morning in Chicago and suburban Cook County as coronavirus metrics continue to rise.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot issued the city's advisory on Thursday alongside new restrictions on gathering sizes as she said the city has reached a "critical point" in the pandemic.
The stay-at-home advisory asks that residents "only leave home to go to work or school, or for essential needs such as seeking medical care, going to the grocery store or pharmacy, picking up take-out food, or receiving deliveries."
City officials also advise residents not to have gatherings inside their homes with anyone outside of their household, even trusted family and friends, and to avoid all non-essential out-of-state travel. Chicago officials have for months asked that anyone required to travel to or from the list of states on the city's emergency order - now including 43 states - quarantine or test negative prior to arrival in the city, with the requirement depending on the state and the severity of its outbreak.
The stay-at-home advisory also asks that everyone practice social distancing by staying six feet away from others and wearing a face covering at all times, as experts have advised for months.
The city also specifically noted that holidays should be celebrated using phone or video chat instead of in-person visits.
In addition to the stay-at-home advisory, Chicago officials also announced new restrictions on gatherings, limiting meetings and social events to 10 people, both indoors and outdoors.
Cook County followed suit on Friday with its own stay-at-home advisory mirroring Chicago's, applicable to all residents of suburban Cook.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker warned last week that a statewide stay-at-home order may be issued in the coming days if metrics don't turn around.
His warning came after state health officials issued guidance recommending that all residents "stay home as much as possible, leaving only for necessary and essential activities, such as work that must be performed outside the home, COVID-19 testing, visiting the pharmacy, and buying groceries."
IDPH also recommended everyone work with employers to work from home unless necessary to be in the workplace and issued another warning that "attending even small gatherings that mix households or traveling to areas that are experiencing high rates of positivity, is not advised and is potentially dangerous."
All 11 regions in the state are currently under some form of enhanced mitigations, including the closure of indoor dining and bar service as well as limitations on gathering sizes and more.
