Pritzker optimistic about fewer mitigations as COVID numbers flatten

[September 01, 2021]  By Greg Bishop

(The Center Square) – Gov. J.B. Pritzker is cautiously optimistic about the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations flattening out in Illinois.

When asked about COVID-19 numbers at an unrelated event in Decatur on Tuesday, Pritzker said not to jump the gun, but it’s “great” to see numbers starting to flatten out, but had some caution.

“We all watch the numbers very closely,” Pritzker said. “And when they start to flatten out, that’s always good news. Always good news. The fact is that I think we’ve all lived through this long enough now to not jump the gun and say, oh, gosh, it’s flattened out, everything is so much better.”

Gov. J.B. Pritzker Tuesday in Decatur

• GovPritzker Facebook

The Illinois Department of Public Health’s weekly COVID-19 reports from Aug. 6 showed 16,742 new cases for the week. For the weekly report from Aug. 13, there were 21,334 positive cases. For the week leading up to Aug. 20 , there were 24,682 positive cases. Last week’s report was 25,636. The positivity rate of total tests conducted went from from 5.3% the week before to 5.2% last week.

“We’ve got to really see the curve heading downward,” Pritzker said. “But I’m very hopeful of that. … And again, I’m very hopeful, and I pray for it every day that we can head back down and fewer mitigations and everybody getting back to a more normal way of life.”

The governor encouraged people to get vaccinated.