Illinois passes 6,000 COVID-related deaths

Illinois has now passed 6,000 deaths related to COVID-19.

With 95 deaths reported Tuesday, the state’s total death count is now at 6,018. An additional 797 confirmed cases were reported, bringing the state’s total to 129,212 in 101 counties.

Following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Illinois has also started to post data on probable COVID-19 cases and deaths, or those that meet medical and epidemiological criteria for the virus, but the person was not tested. As of Monday, there were 724 probable cases and 178 probable deaths.

“Reporting probable cases will help show the potential burden of COVID-19 illness and efficacy of population-based non-pharmaceutical interventions,” the Illinois Department of Public Health said in a statement. Probable cases and deaths will be updated weekly.

Tuesday’s numbers come a day after officials expressed optimism that Illinois is on the back-half of the COVID-19 curve after the state on Monday recorded its lowest daily death tally in two months.

One uncertainty is whether the recent large public gatherings and protests will lead to a spike in cases.

In a series of tweets Tuesday, the state’s Republican Party said Gov. JB Pritzker has violated his orders by taking part in large public gatherings and protests, adding it was an insult to those residents who have been following orders to stay-at-home or socially distance when in public.

Pritzker said during an unrelated press conference he would not “run away” from the issues being raised by the protests.

“It’s important to stand up for people’s First Amendment rights,” he said. “And I’m talking about the peaceful protesters across the state. It’s important to have the governor stand with them on issues that are important to the state and progress that we need to make.”

Pritzker also said it is still too early to say whether schools will reopen this fall, noting it will be “based upon the data and the science and the recommendations that come” in the coming weeks.

“We’ll try to get there as soon as we can so schools can prepare.”

Health News Illinois is removing the password on all stories related to the coronavirus. For the latest developments follow us on Twitter at @healthnewsil or check out our website. For complete healthcare coverage, sign up for a free trial to our daily email newsletter.