Ex-Doctors Called To Action As IL Coronavirus Death Toll Hits 6

ACROSS ILLINOIS — Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a call to action Saturday for doctors, nurses and health care workers who recently retired or left the field to return to the workforce. The call to action comes as the death toll in Illinois rises to six and the total cases of coronavirus climb to 753, with 168 new cases diagnosed since Friday.

The most recent death was a Cook County man in his 70s, Illinois Public Health Director Ngozi Ezike said.

Pritzker said licenses would be expedited and fees waived for health care workers who choose to return to the field during the coronavirus crisis. Current medical licenses will be extended through the end of September, Pritzker said.

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"This is hero's work," Pritzker said, thanking volunteers.

Pritzker also used Saturday's press conference to address issues of racism surrounding coronavirus. He emphasized that the virus can affect everyone and called racism around it "one of the most profoundly unAmerican things that I can think of."

"If anything," Pritzker said, the crisis "should drive home to all of us just how connected we all are.”

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The governor's stay-at-home order, announced Friday, goes into effect at 5 p.m. Saturday. Illinoisans may still go to grocery stores, gas stations, pharmacies, take walks, and report to essential jobs but most other activity is prohibited.

As the governor spoke, the parking lots of many stores still open, including home-improvement stores, were full of shoppers trying to make last-minute essential purchases.

Pritzker said Saturday that local police officers will be watching for violations. Egregious violations could be dealt with via a court order, the governor said.