Confirmed Coronavirus Case Total In Will County Reaches 30

JOLIET, IL – On a day when 250 new positive cases of coronavirus were confirmed across Illinois and the state's death toll reached 17, four new cases were announced in Will County on Tuesday, taking the countywide total to 30. According to Will County spokesman Steve Brandy, the ages of those who have tested positive range from their 20s to their 70s, including 18 women and 12 men.

The new cases included two women, in their 50s and 40s respectively, and two men, one in his 30s and one in his 60s.

Governor J.B. Pritzker announced on Tuesday that the state now has 1,535 positive cases. Efforts across the state allow for 2,000 tests to be processed but the governor would like to see that number rise to 4,300 per day.

On Monday, Joliet Mayor Bob O'Dekirk announced that local hospitals are waiting for a testing method that would significantly shorten the wait time for results to be confirmed — as quickly as a 24-hour turnaround.

Yet, in his daily press conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that more than testing has to be done to properly fight the global pandemic. More than 11,000 people have been treated statewide. Will County currently has two testing sites — one in Joliet and one in Bolingbrook — but at the current time, those sites remain reserved for first responders and healthcare workers.

In Will County, confirmed coronavirus cases have been reported in 12 different communities. While Tuesday's results produced two male and two female patients, Brandy said that trends with the global pandemic have been difficult to track although recent cases have seen in uptick of positive tests among women and girls.

But given the wide spread of coronavirus around the county, Brandy said it's not safe for anyone to feel like they are exempt. That makes it necessary for residents to follow social distancing guidelines and either stay home or seek medical attention if they feel like they may be experiencing symptoms of the virus. But more importantly, as the state remain under a shelter in place order, Brandy said residents must be careful moving forward.

"It's all over the place," Brandy said Tuesday. "That's why we're telling people, 'it's everywhere.' The communities don't really matter more because it's all over Will County. That's why the (Illinois Department of Public Health) is telling people, assume it's everywhere, assume everybody has it. In other words, don't worry about other people, worry about yourself."

"We need to worry about ourselves because it's everywhere," he said.