Governor J.B. Pritzker irked that some in southern IL want to defy coronavirus rules
Gov. J.B. Pritzker told southern Illinoisans Monday they should continue to obey stay-at-home orders even though there are fewer cases and deaths downstate than in Chicago.
Pritzker suggested last week he would consider a “region by region” reopening, but his comments Monday walked back that possibility.
“I want to address those who think downstate Illinois is immune or doesn’t need restrictions,” Pritzker said at his daily news briefing in Chicago. “Folks, that’s just now how this virus operates. COVID-19 knows no county or regional boundaries.”
Residents should consider infection rates, not just the number of cases or deaths, in estimating how bad the spread is in a region, the governor said.
Monroe County saw one of the highest death rates per capita of Illinois’ 102 counties. Monroe has seen 67 positive cases and 10 deaths, nine of which were residents at a nursing home in Columbia. Randolph County was in the top five counties statewide as far as infection rates go.
“It would be doing a massive disservice to our downstate residents if we governed only by raw numbers,” Pritzker said.
John Wagner, director of the Monroe County Health Department, questioned the governor’s decision to extend a statewide stay-at-home order rather than take a regional approach. Wagner wrote in a statement that the governor did not mention most of the deaths in Monroe County were almost all in one location.
“This in itself shows that the governor is more concerned about the appearance of treating the whole state as one rather then taking a regional specific approach that are supported by the numbers,” Wagner wrote.
“Illinois is approximately 57,915 square miles and over 91% of the positive cases are ‘quarantined’ in a 6,004 mile radius! But the other 51,911 square miles of Illinois have only 9%. Does a one size fits all response make sense????” Wagner wrote in an email to the Belleville News-Democrat on Friday.
Some southern Illinois leaders have said they will defy restrictions on businesses despite the governor’s order. The city council of Harrisburg in rural Saline County, for instance, has said it will reopen some retail shops, The Southern Illinoisan reported last week.
Public health officials reported 1,980 new cases of coronavirus disease in Illinois and 50 additional deaths, bringing cases to a total of 45,883 cases statewide, including 1,983 deaths.
Southwestern Illinois coronavirus cases
Here’s a breakdown of the 1,017 COVID-19 cases in southwestern Illinois as of Sunday afternoon. These numbers are updated by 4 p.m. daily at BND.com.
- St. Clair: 389 positive, 22 deaths, 1,679 tests administered, 109 tests pending
- Madison: 307 positive, 16 deaths, 73 hospitalizations, 82 recoveries
- Monroe: 67 positive, 10 deaths
- Clinton: 83 positive, 586 tests administered
- Bond: Five positive, 79 tests administered, three tests pending, three recoveries
- Washington: Eight positive, five recoveries
- Randolph: 106 positive, one death, three hospitalizations, 48 recoveries
- Jersey: 12 positive, five recoveries
- Macoupin: 30 positive, 495 tests administered, 22 tests pending, 18 recoveries
- Calhoun: One positive, one recovery
- Perry: Nine positive
