53 Coronavirus Deaths In 24 Hours In Illinois

ILLINOIS — Gov. J.B. Pritzker gave his daily coronavirus update Friday from McCormick Place, where the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is leading efforts to add hospital beds and equipment to the conference center. He praised their efforts, saying in one week they will be building out a 3,000-bed capacity at the center.

But even as efforts to expand Illinois' healthcare capacity and slow the spread of coronavirus continue, Pritzker had more sobering news.

In the last 24 hours, Pritzker said, 53 more Illinois residents have lost their lives to coronavirus, bringing the state death toll to 210. The state also has 8,904 confirmed coronavirus cases.

"That's 210 fathers and mothers, brothers and sister, grandparents and children who are no longer with us," Pritzker said. "May their memories be for a blessing."

Illinois Coronavirus Update April 3: 8,904 Cases, 210 Deaths

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As of March 24, there were about 26,000 non-ICU beds in Illinois and 2,600 ICU beds. As of today, despite efforts to increase capacity, about 11,500 bed remain, Pritzker said.

"That's a lot fewer than is normal at this time of year," he added. "That availability is diminishing," which makes the need for social distancing that much more critical.

The governor also addressed another hot topic when it comes to coronavirus: Should residents wear masks when they go out in public?

Pritzker gave his own opinion he said is based on "where science is trending," saying, "There's a reason that we're raised to cover your mouth or use your elbow to cover your cough or sneeze," he said. Since coronavirus can be spread through droplets in the air, blocking those droplets by wearing a mask in public "seems like a common sense way" to reduce the spread, Pritzker added.

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Nationwide, 6,921 people have died from coronavirus and 9,445 have recovered.