PEORIA, Ill. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- As coronavirus cases continue to rise throughout Illinois, health officials warn that the state could see an average of 11,000 deaths by the end of the year if case trend doesn't turn around.
Dr. Ngozi Ezike, head of the Illinois Department of Public Health, announced 4,729 new confirmed cases of coronavirus and 17 additional deaths, 12 of which were in Cook County.
"If what we are seeing today does not turn around, we are [looking at] 11,000 deaths in Illinois by the end of this year," Ezike said at a Peoria press conference.
She pleaded with Illinoisans to be responsible and not let down their guard just because the chances of survival is high for healthy individuals who are not immunocompromised.
Ezike said people need to limit gatherings, wear masks and take the second surge of coronavirus seriously, adding that the frustration and fatigue felt is universal but should be a lesson learned.
"Can we do that for one another? Can we limit gatherings?" she said. "Every individual has the power and responsibility to prevent this virus."
Gov. Pritzker, also speaking at the press conference, said the state heading into a "COVID storm" if people do not work diligently to try and prevent the virus' spread.
"Over the next two weeks, we can reduce new hospital admissions and reduce the positivity rates so we can help our businesses... they are the lifeblood of our economy — and kids can go back to school safely," Pritzker said. "Remember, this is not over. There is a COVID storm on the rise and we have to be prepared."
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Chicago is now seeing an average positivity rate of 7.7% in the last week, Pritzker said, and an average of 703 positive cases a day, according to city data.
Also on Monday, Pritzker and IDPH announced new COVID-19 resurgence mitigations for Regions 4 and 10, which encompasses Metro East and suburban Cook County beginning Wednesday.
According to IDPH, Region 4 has had a seven-day rolling average test positivity rate of eight percent or above for three consecutive days. Region 10 has had eight consecutive days of increases in test positivity and seven days of increased hospital admissions, making it the first region in the state to meet the metrics for additional mitigations in this way and surpass warning levels in two categories simultaneously.
Pritzker said Peoria, which is in Region 11, is seeing an uptick in cases due to small gatherings and has an average positivity rate of 7.2%, though not as high as other regions.
As of now, he said there are no plans to revive the McCormick Place makeshift hospital that never went into use but was built in early April as a cautionary measure.
IPDH is reporting a total of 378,985 cases, including 9,522 deaths, in the state.