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Gov. J.B. Pritzker is set to give his daily COVID-19 press briefing momentarily. Meanwhile, state health officials reported 9,757 new and probable cases of COVID-19 and 238 additional deaths - that includes some data that from the weekends, including this past holiday weekend.
Since the pandemic began in Illinois, there have been 748,603 cases and 12,639 deaths, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
OK, and here we go. Follow along for updates.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker says the 238 deaths reported in the past 24 hours surpassed the previous single-day record of 191 deaths reported in May. He says some of the 238 deaths could be due to late reporting, but he says they are still lives lost.
"This virus is a killer. Let's honor those who it has taken and do everything we can to prevent others from getting sick and dying," Pritzker said, urging people to wear masks, stay home, wash their hands and watch their distance.
Pritzker is sharing stories about people who are on the front lines fighting COVID-19, working to keep us safe.
Some of these front line workers are the last faces people are seeing while they're fighting COVID-19, Pritzker said.
Pritzker says the public health mitigations is meant to keep health care systems and workers from being overrun. He says it's our individual responsibility to keep from getting COVID-19 to help health care workers.
Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike says until a COVID-19 vaccine is widely available, we must continue to wash our hands, watch our distance and wear our masks including through the holidays.
As of Tuesday night, 5,764 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 throughout the state, and of those, 1,190 patients were in intensive care units and 714 on ventilators, according to Ezike.
"Let's not make this holiday season anyone's last holiday season. Let's stay the course," Ezike said. "Let's make the holidays less harrowing" for people who may get sick as well as the hospital staff who will care for them.
Ezike urges everyone to continue to follow the mitigations, acknowledging we've lost our normalcy, but we haven't lost hope.
Ezike is now repeating her comments in Spanish.
Dr. Christopher Farrar: “Make no mistake. This is a terrible disease that can impact multiple organ systems and could last weeks.”
Farrar says his team has cared for many who have had COVID-19, including those who died from the virus.
Farrar says health care providers will still be there to take care of them, but he pleads with the public to follow the mitigations the state has put in place.
How many of the deaths reported today are part of a lag in data? Pritzker says it's "very hard to tell" with the initial information the state receives. Even the previous 191 peak was a "conglomerate" of data.
CDC revised its guidance to quarantine for 10 days rather than 14 days. Ezike: Don't let perfect be the enemy of the good and I think that's what the guidelines are trying to do here. ... The majority of infections are detected by that 10-day mark.
Ezike: If everybody does the 10 days where they're quarantining for those days, we'll get 90-99% of those infections.
ICU bed availability is now below 20% in the state. Ezike says there are beds available in all regions of the state. "We're at about 18%. ... There are some beds in some places, but it's getting tight."
"18% is not comforting" as await from a possible post-Thanksgiving surge, Ezike said.
