73 Coronavirus Deaths In One Day In Illinois, 821 On Ventilators

CHICAGO — Public health officials on Tuesday reported the highest number of single-day coronavirus deaths during the pandemic in Illinois so far. Over the previous 24 hours, 73 people died from COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

"There are so many tragedies here," Gov. JB Pritzker said. "The countless family members, loved ones, friends and neighbors who grieve. The indefinite delay of funerals and celebrations of life, the fact that this will not be the last day that we say goodbye to our fellow Illinoisans because of the terrible toll of COVID-19."

Another 1,287 new coronavirus cases were detected between Monday and Tuesday, bringing the statewide total to 13,549, including a member of the Pritzker's staff, who the governor said had been self-isolating for nearly two weeks.

Pritzker said the number of detected cases in the United States is likely a significant undercount due to a lack of available testing. He said no state yet has the capability to test at high enough rates to detect asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19, who can still spread the virus.

Illinois Coronavirus Update April 7: More Than 13,500 Cases in Illinois: Don't miss updates about precautions in the Chicago area as they are announced. Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters.

At his daily afternoon briefing Tuesday, the governor released an update on data about hospital capacity across the state's more than 200 hospitals.

Pritzker said 3,680 known or suspected COVID-19 patients were hospitalized as of Monday. Of those, 1,116 were being treated in intensive care units, or ICUs, and 821 patients were on ventilators.

Of the state's 2,700 ventilators, 43 percent were in use Monday, up from 32 percent a week earlier, according to the governor.

Pritzker announced Tuesday that California Gov. Gavin Newsom had loaned Illinois 100 ventilators overnight through a state-to-state mutual aid request.

"It is truly incredible to work with elected officials across the nation who are providing true leadership," Pritzker said. "Illinois will pay it forward. We will pay it forward in any way that we can, including passing on these ventilators to the next hot spot in the nation and any that we may be able to spare."

Illinois has so far received 600 ventilators from the federal government, including 300 earmarked specifically for the city of Chicago, according to Pritzker. The state has placed orders for more than 3,600 additional ventilators, with the first batch due to arrive later this month.

"Ventilators are critical tools in this fight, they can save lives, but they are not a cure. No magic quantity of ventilators will solve COVID-19 for us. No number of ventilators will make up for a person ignoring our stay-at-home order or not taking their due diligence and washing their hands and the other orders we've asked you to follow," Pritzker said. "Ventilators are but one part of what amounts to a many-pronged approach, but all of them are phenomenally critical all together. Staying at home is the most likely reason that you can avoid ending up on a ventilator, remember that."

Statewide, 43 percent of hospital beds and 35 percent of ICU beds remained available, although there was a wide variation across regions, with hospitals in Chicago and its northeast and southwest suburbs the closest to capacity.

More than 83 percent of ICU beds in the northeast suburban region, 79 percent in the southwest suburban and 75 percent in the city of Chicago were filled, according to data from the governor's office.

As coronavirus spreads in correctional institutions, Pritzker also announced the state had released more than 60 detainees from the Department of Juvenile Justice, a decrease of more than 25 percent. The governor also announced the Illinois Department of Corrections had so far released over 1,100 low-risk prisoners.

"Make no mistake, we are working to flatten the curve everywhere. Equally important in our battle against COVID-19 is our work to expand hospital capacity in preparation for our peak," Pritzker said. "We are in process of standing up alternative care facilities in five sites across the state."

Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said the state had recently conducted an electronic follow-up survey with people who had tested positive. Of the 40 percent who responded, she said 43 percent reported having recovered within a week of their positive COVID-19 test.

"Given the large number of cases, we know that that's a significant number of people to have an improved status just seven days after their positive test," Ezike said.

According to Ezike, 68 percent of confirmed coronavirus cases in Illinois are in people younger than 50, but 80 percent of the 380 people who have died from virus have been over the age of 60.