Governor J.B. Pritzker announced that the state of Illinois has now performed 1 million COVID-19 tests. Pritzker made the announcement at an event in Peoria on Friday. The Illinois Department of Public Health announced Thursday that anyone wishing to receive a test in the state can get one completed at any of the state’s community-based testing sites.
Pritzker says it’s crucial that asymptomatic people and those who’ve gathered in large crowds recently need to get a test completed. Pritzker said he was proud of the state’s on-the-ground workers for hitting the milestone: “This milestone is the result of the incredible work of so many people behind the scenes in state government, in our National Guard, in our public and private hospital and healthcare systems all around the state – people who were willing to battle it out to build out a testing infrastructure that is accurate, efficient, and accessible. And we’re still building – but I’m very proud to be one of the earliest states to hit this landmark.”
Testing is available to anyone regardless of their ability to pay or insurance. The state operated Community-Based Testing Sites currently have the capacity to test more than 6,000 people per day. Cass County Clinics in Beardstown and Virginia and the Memorial Respiratory Clinic on South Sixth Street in Springfield are the closest available state-run testing sites to the Jacksonville area.
IDPH announced yesterday 1,156 new positive cases of COVID-19, including 59 additional deaths. A pet cat recently tested positive for COVID-19 after becoming sick in mid-May. The cat was in a home with people who had tested positive. This is the first animal to test positive for the virus in Illinois.
Morgan County Health officials reported 3 additional cases of COVID-19 yesterday, bringing the total case county to 45 with 1 confirmed death and 33 cases released from restriction.
Cass County officials reported one additional case yesterday, bring the case count in Cass to 74 with 66 recovered and one active case currently hospitalized. According to the IDPH COVID-19 tracing website, Cass County’s per capita positive case number is far higher than any other West Central Illinois county at 589 cases per 100,000 people.
The statewide wide rolling positivity rate for the 7 day time period remains at 6%.