New coronavirus cases remain high as Illinois breaks testing record

Illinois announced 954 new coronavirus cases Sunday, following three straight days with numbers in the 1,000s. This comes as the number of cases across the country continues to surge.

In a tweet Sunday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he was concerned by the rising number of cases in Illinois, as this past week recorded the highest seven-day average since June 5.

“Now more than ever, we must rely on what the science is telling us. Wearing a face covering is an effective tool in the fight against #covid19.” tweeted Pritzker.

This weekend, Pritzker urged Illinoisans to pay attention to states like Florida, which set a national record Sunday for a single-day increase in cases, with more than 15,000. The previous record was 11,694 cases, set Wednesday in California.

There has also been a nationwide increase in deaths, driven largely by just a small number of states in the South and the West.

With 20 deaths in Illinois announced Sunday, numbers remain relatively low. But, a growing number of positive cases can be cause for concern, as deaths typically come several weeks after a person is infected. Experts have predicted that increases in cases and hospitalizations would at some point result in an increase in deaths.

Last week, there were three straight days with more than 1,000 cases in Illinois. The last time the state totaled numbers that high for three days in a row was the end of May.

Illinois also announced a record number of test results Sunday, with 38,894. It is likely the state will pass 2 million tests in the next few days.

From when the first test results were announced on March 11, it took 86 days to reach 1 million tests. Now with added testing capacity, if the state passes 2 million tests on Monday, it will have taken 39 days to go from 1 million tests to 2 million.