Illinois Coronavirus: We 'Prevented Worst-Case Scenarios' So Far

ILLINOIS — Referring to grim early projections of when Illinois coronavirus cases would overwhelm our hospitals, Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday said "real progress" has been made thanks to measures to curb the spread of the disease, including the stay-at-home order. The order expires April 30 but could be extended, even as some protesters push for officials to "Open Illinois."

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"Without social distancing, Illinois would have exceeded by more than 25,000 beds by April 6," the governor said. "We are still seeing too many Illinoisans hospitalized by this virus," but "we've so far prevented our worst-case scenarios."

Pritzker outlined the hospitalization rates as Illinois hit 31,508 coronavirus cases and added another 59 deaths, for a death toll of 1,349:

• April 6 - 3,680
• April 10 - 4,020
• April 14 - 4,283
• April 19 - 4,599

Nationwide, 115,498 people are hospitalized with coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins. More than 40,000 Americans have died, while more than 71,000 have recovered.

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Meanwhile, 757 of those hospitalized in Illinois are on ventilators, with the state supply of ventilators at nearly 5,000.

Without mitigation, Illinois would have needed thousands more beyond our capacity," Pritzker said.

Hospital capacity has also increased thanks to the addition of several alternate care facilities.

The breakdown of hospitalized coronavirus patients in the ICU is as follows:

• April 6 - ICU patients accounted for 43 percent of 2,700 beds
• April 10 - ICU patients accounted for 40 percent of 2,900 beds (due to increased capacity from alternate care facilities)
• April 14 - ICU patients accounted for 40 percent of 40 percent of nearly 3,000 beds (due to increased capacity from alternate care facilities)
• April 19 - 1,239 people are in the ICU, accounting for 40 percent of 3,100 beds (due to increased capacity from alternate care facilities)

"All the projections indicate that you have saved thousands of lives," Pritzker said. "Case numbers are still rising even if that rise is slower now, (but) our curve is bending the right way. We may not have reached our peak yet, but your actions have helped to keep that peak as low as possible."