Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the state will more than double its staffing at vaccination sites to ensure that more people get inoculated and to meet the demand for booster shots.
With another surge in COVID-19 cases making more Illinoisans sick and once again crowding hospitals, Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday announced the state will more than double its staffing at vaccination sites to ensure that more people get inoculated and to meet the demand for booster shots.
There were also 79 deaths reported statewide from the virus on Friday, equaling the Dec. 15 total, which was the highest COVID-19 death toll this month, according to the IDPH. Patients hospitalized with the virus has also climbed in the last month from 2,379 on Nov. 29 to 4,755 on Sunday, the Public Health Department said.
He also announced that free community-based COVID-19 testing will be increased by 50% and available six days a week, up from four days a week. With most coronavirus deaths continuing to be people who were not vaccinated, officials have repeatedly urged the public to get COVID-19 shots. [Don't miss] Review: Kasama was supposed to be a neighborhood cafe. It’s become one of the best restaurants in the world.“We don’t have to continue to lose people. We are not in the same place that we were at the beginning of this pandemic, or even a year ago,” Dr. Ngozi Ezike, the IDPH’s director, said at Monday’s news conference. “We have a vaccine. We have a vaccine that’s highly effective, and it can prevent severe illness and death if we take advantage of this effective tool.
As for the upcoming New Year’s Eve celebrations, Pritzker has not imposed any new statewide restrictions — aside from the mask mandates in public spaces that were imposed in this past summer. But he implored the public to “take extra care” of themselves if they plan to be part of any mass gatherings on New Year’s Eve.
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