As of Saturday afternoon, Illinois now reports a total of 753 positive cases and announced the sixth death due to COVID-19, a Cook County resident in his 70s, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH).
The State of Illinois will enter the “stay at home” order this afternoon at 5 p.m. During the press briefing on Saturday, Gov. JB Pritzker explained in detail about the order.
Pritzker explained that the “stay at home” order relies on residents to hold themselves accountable, but the order will allow the law enforcement agency to take legal actions when encountering extreme reckless cases.
The order will still allow essential businesses and industries to operate as usual. These industries include but are not limited to, grocery stores, gas stations, food services, pharmacies, police and fire stations, hospitals or other care-providers, shipping and delivering services, supply chain manufactures, garbage and sanitation services, media, public transportation and public benefit hotlines.
In order to maintain and expand the medical workforce in Illinois, Pritzker announced that all expiring medical licenses in Illinois will be automatically extended to September. Medical professionals who recently left the field are encouraged to get their licenses reinstalled starting on Monday.
At the briefing, Pritzker also made a comment against any discriminatory speech or act in relation to COVID-19. This comment appears to condemn President Donald Trump’s characterization of the coronavirus as “Chinese-virus.”
“This virus is not tied to any specific ethnic group or race,” Pritzker said. “Suggesting otherwise, or engaging in racist speech, or act, is one of the most profoundly un-American things that I can think of.”
