980 new cases and 36 deaths in Illinois; Pritzker calls for national mask rule
Gov. J.B. Pritzker decried the federal response to the COVID-19 outbreak during a congressional hearing Wednesday, as state health officials announced 36 more residents died and another 980 were diagnosed in one day.
Wednesday's test results showed 3% resulted in new cases, the highest single-day infection rate since June 16, when 3.3% of the COVID-19 tests given had positive results.
The state's death toll from the respiratory disease is now at 7,099, and 149,432 residents have been infected.
Hospitalization figures also spiked, with 1,518 patients with COVID-19 admitted statewide, up from 1,385 the day before, according to Illinois Department of Public Health records on Wednesday.
Mobile testing programs will expand throughout the state, Pritzker announced. The state now has 12 teams to deploy to "hard-hit communities and visit facilities like homeless services centers and nursing homes," according to a news release.
Dr. Ngozi Ezike, head of the IDPH, said residents should heed safety guidelines, practice social distancing and wear face coverings whenever possible.
"We are seeing an increase in new cases in younger populations as more social gatherings and group events occur," she warned. "Conditions here in Illinois have improved, but I urge everyone to remain vigilant."
Pritzker appeared via videoconference before the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee, calling for a national mask-wearing mandate and blaming the deaths of thousands on "inaction and late action" by the administration of President Donald Trump.
"There was no national plan to acquire PPE or testing supplies and as a result, people died," said Pritzker, a Democrat. "The federal government wasn't leading. We were."
The hearing focused on increasing caseloads in hot spots like Florida, Texas, Arizona and California.
"The most important thing we can do to save lives, we need a national masking mandate," Pritzker said. "We instituted ours in Illinois on May 1, one of the first in the nation, and it aligns with our most significant downward shifts in our infection rate. It's not too late for the federal government to make an impact. In fact, it's more important than ever."
Pritzker also urged more testing and contact tracing as well as increased funding for emergency services workers.
He outlined how early in the outbreak, states were left on their own to secure safety equipment for front-line workers and often were bidding against one another for limited supplies. He estimated Illinois received about 12% of the supplies officials had sought from the federal government.
"At some point the federal government just gave up," Pritzker said.
Illinois' seven-day average infection rate is 2.6%. In early April, the state was seeing nearly 25% of the tests result in new cases. But that was when tests were in short supply and only the severely ill were getting tested.
Today, the state is averaging nearly 30,000 tests a day and seeing around 750 new cases with each batch of tests.
IDPH officials estimate 94% of those who have been diagnosed with the virus have recovered.