August 23: 1893 New COVID 19 Cases in Illinois

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 1,893 new cases, six additional deaths reported Sunday

By CHICAGO TRIBUNE STAFF

CHICAGO TRIBUNE |

AUG 23, 2020 AT 8:41 PM

Valerie, age 9, takes shelter from the rain while carrying her masked doll, Teresa, after visiting stores with her family along North Michigan Avenue, Aug. 2, 2020. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)

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Illinois Public Health officials on Sunday reported 1,893 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 and six additional deaths.

That brings the state’s total to 220,178 cases and 7,880 fatalities. There were 54,351 tests reported, a day after the state set another testing record with 56,766 tests.

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If Illinois doesn’t bring its steadily rising coronavirus numbers down quickly, it is among the areas of the country facing a “perfect storm” of risk factors for transmitting the highly contagious disease this fall, according to a Philadelphia medical research center that is tracking COVID-19 in hundreds of counties nationwide.

State health officials on Friday said 20 counties are now considered at a warning level for COVID-19, and that cases of the virus connected to schools are beginning to be reported.

Meanwhile, the Illinois Department of Public Health acknowledged Friday that the agency did not investigate nursing home complaints of neglect and abuse for nearly 3½ months during the coronavirus pandemic. The announcement came a month after the the agency fire the state’s top nursing home regulator without explanation and disciplined another.