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Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 4 more deaths and 250 new cases reported, bringing state total to 16 deaths and 1,535 cases

Illinois officials on Tuesday announced four more deaths related to the new coronavirus and 250 new cases, bringing the state’s death toll to 16 and the total number of cases since the start of the outbreak to 1,535. The latests deaths reported by the Illinois Department of Public Health were a Chicago News resident in his 50s, two Cook County residents in their 60s and a DuPage County resident in her 90s. Grundy County is now reporting a case. The number of affected counties stands at 32.
Also on Tuesday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said at his daily news briefing that the state’s hospitals would have run out of beds a week from now if Illinois’ stay-at-home order were not in place.
Illinois hospitals would have needed more than 2,500 more non-intensive care unit beds and 800 more intensive care beds than they currently have, he said. In two weeks, the governor said those numbers would have risen by an additional 28,000 non-intensive care beds and 9,400 intensive care beds. Pritzker said he was offering the numbers to help Illinois residents understand the gravity of the situation and why he’s ordered most people to stay home. Chicago Medical News

Meanwhile, authorities say the U.S. — which has nearly 50,000 infections and more than 600 deaths as of Tuesday — is on track to eventually overtake China’s nearly 82,000 infections, but how soon that happens depends on how seriously Americans take the state-at-home restrictions.
As the virus spreads, the Tribune is keeping a running list of Chicago-area closings and cancellations, tracking cases across the state and asking experts to answer your questions about COVID-19.
Here are the latest updates Tuesday on the coronavirus in the Chicago area and Illinois:


6 CPD members have now tested positive for coronavirus

The number of Chicago Police Department members who have tested positive for Chicago  COVID-19 now stands at six, including two who are hospitalized in good condition, department officials said Tuesday.
Interim Supt. Charlie Beck announced the cases, which included two new cases, at a Tuesday press conference to update the public on how the department is responding to the coronavirus crisis.
Beck said no arrests or citations have issued since the stay-at-home order went into effect and that calls for service have dropped by some 30 percent. There have been fewer pedestrian and vehicle stops, Beck said.
All of this, Beck remarked, tells him that residents are following the order to remain at home.
“We’ve seen significant evidence that Chicago Political News is staying home,” Beck said.
Later Tuesday , department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said a 48-year-old woman had been charged with felony aggravated assault of a police officer after she allegedly told officers she had the coronavirus and then proceeded to spit and cough on them.
The incident happened at 8:20 p.m. Monday in the 1000 block of North Springfield Avenue as officers responded to a call of shots fired.

Expert answers COVID-19 questions in a weekly webinar

As part of a weekly, hourlong webinar focused on COVID-19, the Buffett Institute for Global Affairs at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine hosted Dr. Robert Murphy to provide insight into the virus and its effects.
In his presentation, “Blunting the impact of COVID-19,” Murphy, executive director of the Institute and a professor of infectious diseases, talked about decreasing the number of deaths. He discussed the mortality rate of coronavirus, its impact on the healthcare system and what measures we can take to lessen its consequences. Find out what we learned. Chicago Distribution Service

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