Howard Brown Health Commends Governor Pritzker for Combatting Wave in COVID-19 Pandemic
(November 17, 2020, Chicago, IL) – Today, Governor J.B. Pritzker announced the decision to move the entire state into Tier 3 mitigation to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Howard Brown Health commends this decision and urges all Illinois residents to comply with the new mitigation measures for the safety and well-being of our communities.
The new restrictions are a response to the recent surge in the number of new COVID-19 cases. Howard Brown has seen higher numbers of daily new positive COVID-19 tests than in the first wave of the pandemic, as well as a large increase in numbers of patients seeking tests and a large volume of phone calls for nursing and contact tracing. Among all tests administered by Howard Brown over the last week, 17.5% were positive. Across the state, hospitalization rates and the number of patients admitted to ICUs and put on a ventilator have increased. Tragically, death rates have also increased.
Howard Brown Health has implemented multiple COVID testing strategies to combat the pandemic, including walk-up testing sites, community care stations, mobile testing, and contact tracing. To date, Howard Brown has administered 43,362 total tests, accounting for 2.8% of all COVID tests and 4.1% of all positive cases across Chicago. Howard Brown has also shifted many services to telehealth so that the agency can continue to provide affirming and high-quality healthcare to the communities that it cares for.
All Illinoisans and people visiting Illinois are encouraged to follow all state and city guidelines to minimize risk and the potential for exposure to COVID-19. Everyone can help to combat this new wave in the pandemic by staying home whenever possible, practicing physical distancing, and wearing a mask.
Howard Brown is committed to the health and well-being of our communities and will continue to collaborate with state and local leaders to fight back against this pandemic. For a full list of our COVID-19 testing locations and services at Howard Brown, visit howardbrown.org or by calling 773.388.1600.
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Media Inquiries:
Erik Roldan, Director of Communications and Marketing
mediainquiries@howardbrown.org