Illinois Sees Biggest One-Day COVID-19 Spike, With More Than 1,800 New Cases, Including 62 Deaths

CHICAGO (CBS) -- In the largest daily increase in novel coronavirus cases so far, Illinois has seen 1,842 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, including 62 more deaths.

Illinois Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said Illinois now has 27,575 cases of COVID-19 in 92 counties, including 1,134 deaths. A total of 130,163 people have been tested so far.

Ezike said, for those people who are sick and want to get tested, the state has expanded capacity, and people can go to the IDPH website to find a state-run testing site near them.

"Please continue to stay home, continue washing your hands, wear a mask if you must leave. Everyone's effort is appreciated. It's noticed. Your efforts have shown that they can flatten the curve," she said.

While the latest spike in the raw number cases was the largest to date, Ezike and Gov. JB Pritzker said the actual rate of new cases has slowed.

"Definitely, we did not think we are at our peak yet. So given that, we do expect cases to rise," Ezike said.

Pritzker said the state's COVID-19 doubling rate – the number of days it takes do double case counts, hospitalizations, or deaths – has been improving in recent weeks. On March 22, the number of coronavirus cases in Illinois was doubling every two days; as of April 12, the case doubling rate is up to 8.2 days, according to Pritzker. The mortality doubling rate also has increased, from 2.5 days at the beginning of April to 5.5 days as of Tuesday.

"The curve is bending, but it isn't flat yet," Pritzker said. "I would like it to be flat, and then we know at least, or we can have some confidence that it may start falling."

Meantime, according to published reports, University of Chicago clinical trials have showed promising results for an antiviral drug being tested as a possible treatment for COVID-19. Reports state COVID-19 patients who were treated with Remdesivir, a treatment for the Ebola and Marburg viruses, have been recovering quickly.

Pritzker said he has not been briefed on that study, but has said finding an effective treatment will be one key to lifting the "stay at home" order.

"It's very important, when we talk about what does the future look like, the first really important thing that will happen – while we're building up testing, while we're doing contact tracing – is that the approval of a therapy or treatment that will diminish people's likelihood of either being hospitalized, or after they're hospitalized, being put in ICU or on a ventilator," he said.

The governor also announced Friday that all Illinois school buildings will remain closed through the end of the academic year, and students will finish out the school year through remote learning.

"Our students can't go back to their normal routine," said Pritzker. "Therefore I am suspending in-person learning for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year."

Earlier, Pritzker joined Mayor Lori Lightfoot during a tour of the McCormick Place alternate care facility, where construction continues toward the goal of having 3,000 beds available for patients by next Friday. The ACF started admitting patients on Tuesday, and Pritzker said five people are now being treated there.