(WBBM NEWSRADIO) —Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker announced plans Wednesday to deploy more than 2,000 healthcare workers to hospitals that are overwhelmed by COVID-19 and the Omicron variant.
More than 900 professionals are on-site at beleaguered hospitals, with another 552 to be in place by next Friday, Pritzker said. Meantime, the state has nearly 700 medical workers who will mobilize as crisis teams where needed, he said.
“From Chicago to Marion, from East St. Louis to Rockford, medical professionals and staff are caring for our family members, for our neighbors, our friends in this hour of need. They need help,” the governor said.
Pritzker said doctors with medical training from another country will be allowed to help licensed doctors. He said the state is trying to make vaccinations and masks as widely available as possible as Omicron pushes the state’s hospital system to its limits.
As of this week, more than 7,200 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 across Illinois, the state’s Department of Public Health reported.
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