ILLINOIS, USA — The number of COVID-19 cases passed the 5,000 mark in Illinois Monday.
The Illinois Department of Public Health reported an additional 461 new cases in the state, bringing the total to 5,057 cases. The ages of patients range from younger than 1 year old to 99 years old.
The state also announced seven additional deaths.
According to Illinois’ coronavirus website, 73 people in the state have died because of the virus. However, that number does not include the second death in St. Clair County, which the county confirmed Sunday afternoon. That patient was a woman in her 30s.
In a Facebook Live video, the St. Clair County Health Department said the county has 41 cases.
An inmate at the Stateville Correctional Center is among the seven additional deaths announced Monday. Twelve men who are incarcerated at the same prison are now hospitalized, with several of them needing ventilators. There are 77 other inmates and 11 staff members who have symptoms. They are in isolation.
While giving his daily briefing, Governor J.B. Pritzker announced plans to make an alternative health care facility with 3,000 beds to help care for patients in downtown Chicago.
Gov. Pritzker also said a third federal shipment of personal protection equipment has arrived, with most of the supplies going to the Chicago area. He said the number of items received still pales in comparison with what they’ve requested, and the most recent shipment appears to be smaller than the previous two.
Pritzker called on the federal government to step up and amplify the shipments to communities in need and said PPE is “not a luxury that [healthcare workers] should have to ration.”
You can see a county-by-county breakdown of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Illinois with 5 On Your Side's interactive map below.