Village of Oak Park health officials announced Thursday there are now 120 confirmed cases of residents with COVID-19, with four deaths related to the coronavirus.
Public health director Mike Charley said six more cases were reported Thursday, which brings the village’s total number to 120. The new cases include residents ranging in age from their 30s to 70s.
On Wednesday, Charley announced the four death of a resident likely related to COVID-19, stating the Cook County medical examiner will determine the official cause of death. The resident was a woman in her 80s, Charley said.
The village’s first death related to COVID-19 was a man in his 60s reported April 2. A second death, a man in his 50s, was reported April 9, while the third death, a woman in her 90s, was reported April 13.
Due to privacy laws, Charley said he is unable to provide additional information about any of the cases. However, Pioneer Press and the Chicago Tribune have learned from family sources that Robert Dugal, 58, a lifelong Oak Parker and advocate for people with disabilities, died of COVID-19 and other complicating factors on April 9.
The latest village announcement comes as the state of Illinois reported its deadliest coronavirus day yet, with 125 more fatalities announced by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
Pritzker, however, is hopeful expanded testing will get the state to his elusive goal of 10,000 screenings a day.
Pritzker has repeatedly said increasing the state’s testing capacity will be one of the key steps in both slowing the spread of COVID-19 and eventually easing the restrictions in his stay-at-home order, which is still set to expire at the end of the month.
“We’re not where we want to be in the state,” Pritzker said Thursday at his daily news conference.
The governor said Illinois will work with six nearby states on reopening economies left in tatters by the stay-at-home restrictions. Pritzker wouldn’t say whether he would follow the lead of neighboring Wisconsin, a coalition member that earlier in the day extended its order until after Memorial Day, though he has strongly hinted in recent days that the order will be extended with some possible modifications.
The state’s total death toll sits at 1,072, with a statewide total of 25,733 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the outbreak began.
Daily updates on the amount of people affected by COVID-19 are posted on the village of Oak Park’s website.
sschering@pioneerlocal.com
Twitter: @steveschering
