Three new deaths, cases jump to 422, Pritzker says

Three more people have died in Illinois from coronavirus infections, according to Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

A Will County man in his 50s, a Cook County woman in her 80s and a Florida woman visiting in Sangamon County succumbed to COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, Pritzker said.

The total number of confirmed cases in Illinois climbed Thursday to 422 infections in 22 counties, up from 289 cases on Wednesday.

There was no word on whether the number of infections rose at a Willowbrook nursing home that saw 46 residents and staff members test positive for the coronavirus on Tuesday and Wednesday.

DuPage County Health Department officials said they had no updates.

Elgin Area Unit District U-46 CEO Tony Sanders said in an emailed statement that the Cook County Health Department told U-46 officials a student who attended Independence Center for Early Learning has a confirmed case of the coronavirus. Because of privacy laws, Sanders would say only that the student has been isolated for the past several days.

Pritzker urged medical professionals, particularly doctors, to sign up for a statewide emergency alert system at siren.illinois.gov.

Dr. Ngozi Ezike, head of the Illinois Department of Public Health, said despite the greater risk to older residents, there is no plan to test nursing home residents and staffers who are not exhibiting symptoms.

Some of the new cases announced Thursday are nursing home residents, though the three who died were not, she said.

"The number of cases is rising exponentially," Ezike said. "And sadly, we do anticipate more deaths."

So far, Illinois has tested 3,151 people, according to state reports.

For his part, Pritzker addressed rumors that had been circulating about services closing, like highways, grocery stores and pharmacies.

"Those will never close," Pritzker said. "There is no need to hoard food, gas or medicine. There is enough to go around as long as people do not hoard."

Pritzker also warned parents that school closures could be extended beyond the end of the month.

"We're obviously evaluating that every day," he said, "They should be planning for the possibility of an expansion of that date, but right now we're sticking with the March 31 date."

Businesses are also being given a two-month delay in paying sales taxes to the state and local jurisdictions, Pritzker announced. Late fees are being waived, he said.

"Our small businesses are already hurting and the root of that pain isn't going away anytime soon," he acknowledged.

Small businesses are eligible for low-interest loans of up to $2 million under a new program, the governor said.

Information about the loans and other coronavirus information is available at the state's website coronavirus.illinois.gov.

Elsewhere, College of Lake County officials announced an employee, who was last on the Grayslake campus on March 12, had tested positive for the coronavirus.

"The college has verified that the spaces the employee came in contact within the building have been deep cleaned twice since March 16 and have been under daily touch-point cleaning since Feb. 29," a college news release stated.

And an Aurora University student has tested positive for the coronavirus.

"I know that yesterday's news about an AU student testing positive for COVID-19 was distressing to many in our community," said a message Thursday afternoon from university President Rebecca Sherrick.

"We can confirm ... that this student has not been on campus since the start of the Spring semester. Following guidance from public health authorities, the student is in self-isolation off campus."