Gov. Pritzker tests negative after possible virus exposure

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has tested negative for the COVID-19 virus after learning he may have been exposed during a meeting to someone who tested positive for the coronavirus.

Members of Pritzker's staff who attended the meeting Monday also tested negative for the virus, his office said Saturday in a news release.

Pritzker had self-isolated Friday while awaiting test results. They were the second negative test results for Pritzker and staff members who also underwent weekly tests on Wednesday, according to his office.

Meanwhile, 12,438 newly confirmed and probable cases of the virus and another 76 deaths were reported Saturday by the Illinois Department of Public Health.

More than 10,370 new cases and 49 deaths were reported Friday.

Illinois has had nearly 478,000 cases of the coronavirus and more than 10,150 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

The health department said Saturday that the number of coronavirus patients being treated in hospitals tops 4,200. More than 813 people were reportedly being treated in intensive care units.