(Watch the full press briefing below)
Testing for COVID-19 in the State of Illinois has surpassed 7 million as of Thursday, October 22.
Governor J.B. Pritzker made this announcement during Thursday's daily briefing, which took place in southern Illinois.
The governor said they were conducting an average of 70,000 tests per day, and that there were enough tests available that anybody who needs one can get one at no cost.
Health experts continued to encourage mask wearing, hand washing and social distancing as the best ways to curb the spread of the virus, which is typically spread through respiratory transmission. Specifically, situations where there is loud talking, singing, eating or drinking, or large gatherings are putting people at the highest risk.
Some counties in Illinois have had stricter mitigation practices placed on them, due to a sustained rise in hospitalizations, according to the governor.
Earlier in the week, Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health announced COVID-19 resurgence mitigations for Region 7 (Will and Kankakee Counties) and Region 8 (Kane and DuPage Counties) starting Friday, Oct. 23. Indoor dining and bar service will not be allowed and gatherings will be limited to 25 people.
For establishments who are impacted by these restrictions, there are "Business Interruption Grants" from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity that can help with finances.
Governor Pritzker said businesses in the impacted regions will get priority.
"We want to restore as much normalcy to people's lives as possible," said Governor Pritzker, "but that can only happen when we slow down the community spread."
As of Thursday, 44 additional deaths were reported, making for a total of 9,387 lives lost in Illinois due to COVID-19. There were 2,463 patients in the hospital overnight; 425 patients were in the ICU, 212 on ventilators.
