As COVID cases rise, Pritzker isn’t ruling out further mitigations

As coronavirus cases continue to rise in Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker has indicated further restrictions could be forthcoming.
“The virus is winning the war right now,” Pritzker said during his daily briefing on Monday, a day that saw 10,573 new cases of the virus.
From Saturday through Monday, the Illinois Department of Public Health [IDPH] reported a total of 33,020 new confirmed and probable cases—an average of just over 11,000 per day. The preliminary seven day rolling average positivity rate stood at 11.4%.
“We are seeing record numbers of new COVID-19 cases across the state. Our community transmission rates are at drastic levels. What you do—what we all do—will determine how much worse the coming weeks will be,” Pritzker said, stating on social media, “IDPH is looking at proposing further regional and statewide restrictions because the rise in cases and hospitalizations is unsustainable.”
Region 2—that includes Grundy County—enters its second week of tier one mitigations today while tier two mitigations begin in Region 7—Will and Kankakee counties.
So far the mitigations have failed to bring down positivity rates—13.2% in Region 2 and 16.4% in Region 7.
“The only way that science has told us that we can limit the number of cases or the epidemiological spread of the disease is by having less interaction and less interaction means cutting off people's ability to interact in various places,” the governor said.
Current mitigations include no indoor dining or bar service, outdoor service is allowed with table limits and social distancing, gatherings are limited to the lesser of 25 people or 25% of room capacity, restaurants, bars and gaming casinos must close between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Pritzker is calling on municipal and county leaders to encourage and enforce these measures aimed at slowing the viruses spread.
“Some elected leaders are allowing this continued rise in positivity to balloon out of control while taking no action. These mayors and city councils and county boards and state’s attorneys need to take some responsibility for keeping their constituents safe. I promise them that responsibility pales in comparison to what could come when the hospitals in your area are filling up an there aren’t enough nurses or doctors to save their constituents’ lives,” the governor said Monday.
Grundy County remained on the state’s warning list based on data from the week of Oct. 25-31. The county was at warning in four of the eight indicators for increased risk of COVID-19—number of new cases, test positivity, tests performed and emergency room visits for COVID like illnesses.
On Oct. 31, Grundy County’s positivity rate was 14.8% and as of Nov. 6 the seven day rolling rate had reached 19.5%.
From Nov. 1 through Nov. 6, IDPH had recorded 315 new cases within the county, 90 of those reported on a single day.
As of Monday afternoon, IDPH was reporting 1,557 cases in the county since the pandemic began with eight deaths as a result of COVID-19 complications.
Michelle Pruim, Grundy County’s public health administrator, announced on Nov. 6 that her department was following 303 people who had recently tested positive and were in isolation, as well as each of their close contacts.
The health department continues its efforts to talk with persons who have tested positive and their close contacts within 24 hours of lab notification, however as the number of cases continues to increase it could take a bit longer.
“On average, it takes 24-72 hours from the time a person is tested for COVID-19 before the result is available for our viewing. Additionally, it may take another 24-48 hours from the time the health department receives the individual’s result to when they will be contacted by a contact tracer,” said Pruim, who noted her office is experiencing a large volume of calls.
Given the influx of calls to the health department, Pruim asked for patience and cooperation from residents as they work as quickly as possible to attend to all residents.
With the lag times the department is experiencing, its asking the public to follow good health practices.
If an individual is notified of a positive test result they need to isolate at home away from others in a separate room and if possible use a separate bathroom.
Additionally, they should put together a list of those they have had close contact with 48 hours before symptoms began or 48 hours before the day tested if not experiencing symptoms. A close contact is defined as being within six-feet of a person for longer than 15 minutes. Additionally, those close contacts should be notified if possible and that list of individuals and contact information should be provided to contact tracers.
“Taking these immediate actions will help slow the spread and also help the contact tracing process go more smoothly,” Pruim said.
Additionally, if an individual is identified as a close contact they must quarantine for 14 days since last contact with the positive person and monitor for symptoms and contact a healthcare provide or seek testing if experiencing any symptoms.
If a close contact tests negative they still need to complete the entire 14 day quarantine, testing out is not an option.
“Individuals who are unwilling to cooperate risk spreading COVID-19 to others in the our community,” Pruim said.
Measures implemented to help slow the spread include wearing a face covering, social distancing and frequent hand washing and sanitizing. Individuals are reminded to stay home if feeling ill and/or exhibiting any symptom of COVID-19—fever, cough, shortness of breath/difficulting breathing, chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat and new loss of taste and smell.
Testing is available throughout the county through local hospital systems, and protocol at each location is subject to change based on availability of resources.
Mobile testing units organized by IDPH are also available throughout the region and can be found by visiting dph.illinois.gov. Testing is free and offered to anyone regardless of symptoms or asymptomatic. Results are available in 4-7 days after specimen collection.
Individuals looking for additional information on COVID-19 can visit the county health department website at grundyhealth.com or the state site at dph.illinois.gov.
Editor’s note: Capitol News Illinois contributed to this report