Pritzker says state ‘in decent shape’ to further reopening as vaccination pace slows
By TIM KIRSININKAS
Capitol News Illinois
tkirsininkas@capitolnewsillinois.com
SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker said Monday the state could enter the “bridge” phase to greater reopening as soon as next week, while the state’s vaccination rate continues to drop.
Speaking at a news conference at Providence Hospital in Chicago, Pritzker said Illinois is nearing the necessary metrics to reach the next phase of reopening as case numbers stabilize.
“It looks to me, if you look at all the hospital admissions data, like we’re in decent shape and moving exactly as I would hope we would toward the bridge phase,” Pritzker said Monday.
According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, new COVID-19 hospital admissions, total COVID-19 patients in the hospital, and death rates all must be stable or decreasing before the state can move to the next phase with more relaxed capacity restrictions and allowing some large-scale events to resume with safety measures in place.
Pritzker said hospitalization growth is the key metric the state monitors which would allow the state to move forward to the bridge phase.
As of Monday, the IDPH website showed an increasing trend for the overall number of hospitalizations for COVID-19 with 1,963 people hospitalized as of Sunday, although new admissions for COVID-19-like illnesses were reported as stable, averaging 205 new daily admissions as of Friday. That was down from 240 on April 16.
Of the 1,963 individuals in Illinois who were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Sunday night, 479 patients were in intensive care unit beds and 249 were on ventilators.
The state has reached all other benchmarks to trigger a larger-scale reopening, including at least 70 percent of the state’s population aged 65 and older receiving at least one dose of a vaccine, and at least half of all residents aged 16 and older receiving at least one dose.
The state had administered a total of 9.4 million COVID-19 vaccine doses as of Monday, with 4.1 million residents, or 32 percent of the state’s population, fully vaccinated.
A total of 16,920 doses were administered statewide Sunday, bringing the seven-day rolling average for vaccines administered to 78,440, down from a peak seven-day average of 132,979 recorded April 12.
Public health officials announced a total of 2,049 new COVID-19 cases and 28 additional deaths Monday. The statewide seven-day rolling case positivity rate stood at 3.4 percent Monday.
Pritzker credited Illinois residents for continuing to follow public health guidelines as a major reason for the state’s low positivity rate.
“Nobody’s forcing anybody to do it, but this is about doing what’s best for your own family, for yourself and for your community, and I think most people in Illinois have stepped up to the plate. I’m so, so proud of our state,” Pritzker said.
Pritzker also added that preparations for some large-scale events such as the Illinois State Fair are underway, signaling the potential for a wider reopening and larger-scale events to come in the future.
“We’ve obviously been doing all the planning that’s necessary for it, you know, barring some highly unusual event occurring that would prevent a large gathering,” Pritzker said.
“(IDPH) is working with the Department of Agriculture to make sure that people will be safe, so I think we’re gonna have a lot of fun this summer,” he added.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government and distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Local News
Little things make a big difference in West Lawn
Spread the love. By Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place • (773) 504-9327 . Thank you to all who make a positive difference in West Lawn. There are some who are putting enormous efforts into making our neighborhood better and safer. We often hear about these good people and all…
Daina Cyvas again pedals with a purpose
Spread the love. Kathy Headley Your correspondent in Chicago Lawn and Marquette Manor 6610 S. Francisco • (773) 776-7778 . As I’m sure you remember, in past years, Daina Cyvas, the Communications and Project Coordinator for the Sisters of St. Casimir, has participated in Bike MS. in honor of one of her heroes, SSC Sister…
Folks urged to enter costume contest for La Grange Pet Parade
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch About 40,000 people are expected along the streets of downtown La Grange on Saturday morning June 1, with some of them dressing in costumes for the 78th annual La Grange Pet Parade. A costume contest has long been part of the parade, Molly Price, the parade’s executive director, said on…
Hodgkins breaks ground on new public works building
Spread the loveBy Carol McGowan The Village of Hodgkins is getting ready to welcome a new public works office building at its facility off of 67th Street, east of East Avenue. Village officials and public works employees gathered last month for a groundbreaking. Hodgkins Mayor Ernest Millsap explained the history behind the Paul G. Struve Public Works Building.…
Baseball | Sandburg tops Marist to open playoffs, but falls to LW West in regional final
Spread the loveBy Xavier Sanchez Correspondent For the second consecutive year, Sandburg’s season came to an end at the hands of Lincoln-Way West. The Eagles (21-12) fell to the Warriors, 6-1, in the Class 4A Sandburg Regional championship game on May 25. They had advanced to a second playoff game with a 7-3 comeback victory…
Sports Bits | St. Michael seventh-grader sets Illinois state record in 110-meter hurdles
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent • St. Michael School seventh-grader Tommy Walter set a grade-school state record en route to winning the Illinois Elementary School Association Class 2A 110-meter hurdles at the grade-school state meet held May 10-11 in East Peoria. Tommy set the Class 2A record in the event with a time of…
Water Polo | Lions, Eagles, Macs, Crusaders and Mustangs earn All-State honors
Spread the loveAll-State water polo Lyons girls water polo standout Maya Mladjan was named to the Illinois Water Polo organization’s All-State first team. The Lions’ Delaney Judkins and Isabella Recker, and Mother McAuley’s Becca Engquist earned second-team honors. Sandburg’s Claire Donnell made the third team and the Mighty Macs’ Andi Moriarity made the fourth team.…
Neighbors
Palos Park inches closer to gaming solution
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Signs are pointing to the fact there probably will be limited video gaming in Palos Park. Mayor John Mahoney and the village council rejiggered a few things with an ordinance and some of the village codes and the end result is that Monday they asked village attorneys to look into…
Police reports
Spread the loveShot in the head, killed on Archer A 33-year-old man was shot in the head and killed as he drove a vehicle in the 4200 block of South Archer at 5:13 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 22. The victim was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 5:47 a.m. Police said…
Tabares backs West Lawn Branch Library
Spread the love Twenty-third Ward Ald. Silvana Tabares (left) recently toured the renovated West Lawn Branch Library, 4020 W. 63rd St.,, with new branch manager Mina Duarte. Details about the renovation’s may be found in the West Lawn column in the January 28 Greater Southwest News-Herald. –Supplied photo
Chuy backs Starbucks unionization
Spread the love U.S. Rep Jesús “Chuy” García (D-4th), white mask, recently stood with those who support unionization of Starbucks workers, outside a shop in the city. Workers are attempting to organize under the banner of Chicago and Midwest Joint Board, Workers United, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union. –Supplied photo
‘Grizzled’ sophomores help Naz beat Marist
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Nazareth’s “grizzled veterans” have won 19 of their first 20 games. The Roadrunners’ were victorious in a big East Suburban Catholic Conference showdown with Marist, with two sophomores doing most of the damage in a 53-42 win in LaGrange Park on Jan. 19. Nazareth improved to 19-1, 4-0.…
Postseason Sports Report: Area stars ready for state bowling and dancing
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff Writer The first two IHSA state tournaments for winter sports will take place this weekend, and an army of area athletes will be competing in both. The boys bowling and competitive dance championships will be held Friday and Saturday, with the bowlers heading to St. Clair Bowl in O’Fallon…
Strus tops former coach in Stagg’s win over Sandburg
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff writer Marty Strus has nothing but good things to say about his former high school coach, John Daniels. “He’s meant a ton to me,” Strus said of the coach he faced off against last week when his Stagg Chargers took on Sandburg. “He meant a lot to me as…
Palos Area Chamber dedicated to promoting area
Spread the loveBy Kelly White Dedicated to helping local area businesses strive is the Palos Area Chamber of Commerce. The chamber was formed in 1949 when a small group of merchants joined together for the purpose of advancing economic, industrial, professional, cultural, and civic welfare of the Palos Heights area. For 68 years, the Palos…