CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Three more drive-through coronavirus testing sites will be opened next week as Illinois continues efforts to get a handle on the number of infections across the state, Gov. JB Pritzker said Friday as the state reached a new daily benchmark in collecting test samples.
The three new drive-throughs — Pritzker did not name the locations — will join seven mobile facilities now in operation that collectively compile more than 3,000 tests daily. Illinois has a total of 244 public testing sites across the state, the governor said.
By comparison, there were 112 testing sites on April 24, he said.
The state reached a new high in the number of tests it conducted in one day: more than 20,000. Pritzker has previously said 10,000 tests per day was the minimum goal. The governor credited a variety of factors, including his administration's partnerships with private labs and research facilities, for the added capacity.
Testing — and "contact-tracing" in the event of a positive result — are considered central to suppressing the spread of the virus that causes potentially fatal COVID-19.
Also Friday, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported 2,887 new cases of the novel coronavirus, including 130 deaths. To date, there have been 73,760 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Illinois, including a total of 3,241 deaths.
