Cook County continues to combat COVID-19 but projections look bleak.
Cook County continues to combat COVID-19 but projections look bleak.
Illinois’ fight against COVID-19 has just begun as citizens are socially distancing themselves and only essential businesses are open to the public per Gov. J.B. Pritzker's stay-at-home order which was extended until April 30.
If severe control measures including strict social distancing are not taken seriously, coronavirus infections could top 1 million in Cook County alone by early May which would represent 21% or more of the population, according to Columbia University and reported by several news outlets.
“Under the best-case scenario, including strict imposition of measures like closing schools, banning mass gatherings, and testing and quarantining sick people and their contacts, the peak of infection could be pushed past July 31, with as few as 41,000 cases — just 0.8 percent of the Cook County population,” according to a recent Patch report which cited the Columbia reseach.
Gov. Pritzker's stay-at-home order officially went into effect on March 21 and when announcing the order he indicated it was not an easy decision, according to Patch.
"I don't come to this decision easily," Pritzker said as reported by Patch. "I fully recognize that in some cases, I am choosing between saving people's lives and saving people's livelihoods. But ultimately you can't have a livelihood if you don't have your life."
The governor stressed the importance of public health over a healthy economy and said, "we can revive our economy. We can't revive the people who are lost to this virus."
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