Gov. JB Pritzker has his daily coronavirus update at 2:30 p.m.

I'll live tweet. Follow for updates and let me know if you have questions.

Today's numbers: https://blockclubchicago.org/2020/10/29/record-breaking-6363-new-coronavirus-cases-reported-in-illinois-and-56-more-deaths/

You can watch here: https://multimedia.illinois.gov/press/press-live.html

Pritzker: "Statewide, we have a real problem on our hands, and people's lives hang in the balance."

New cases are up more than 150% since the start of October. We hit a high of a seven-day average of 2,565 in early May. Today we're at a new high of 5,043 new cases per day.

Pritzker: "Our cases are rising at a much faster clip than our testing. We're now averaging more than 73,000 COVID-19 tests per day." Even as testing grew, our test positivity stayed steady in June/July. "From last July to a few weeks ago, it stayed more or less below 4.5%. ...

"Today, it's up to 6.9 percent. And our current test positivity average, which we use for mitigation decisions, is 8.2%. The growth rates that we're seeing in positivity rates, hospitalizations and deaths are telling us that we are again experiencing a meaningful and

"... sustained increase in transmission of this virus."

Pritzker: "Since the beginning of October alone, statewide the number of Illinoisans in the hospital with COVID-19 has grown 73%."

Pritzker: "We came into this month with an average of 1,570 patients in the hospital fighting COVID-19. Today ... that average is up to 2,700 and growing."

Pritzker: The number of patients requiring admittance into the ICU is up 61%. "Lower, yes, but not a gap that anyone should start betting their life on."

Pritzker: 360 people in ICU on average as of Oct. 1; today, there are over 580.

Pritzker: "The number of patients on a ventilator is soaring, up 61% ... . Tragically, we aren't going to be able to save everyone from this pandemic, but we are doing our best to save" as many as we can by lowering the rate of spread.

Pritzker: "Deaths are a lagging indicator, and we can see in these numbers the consequences of rising case rates and hospitalizations and ICUs and ventilators across our state from weeks ago. and, unfortunately, I'm afraid we can expect worse to come. ...

"Deaths from COVID-19 are up 82% since the beginning of October, when we were averaging 23 lives lost each day. Now, at 41 lives lost each day. That means that every day we are averaging another 41 mothers and fathers, children, grandparents no longer with us."

Pritzker: "... Things are moving in a bad direction all across our state." Region 3 is getting mitigations starting Sunday.

Pritzker: In the meantime, they're upping testing support with a new mobile testing site.

Pritzker: Region 6 has had two days of a positivity rate of 8% or higher. If that continues tomorrow, it'll get mitigations.

Region 2 "remains the sole region of the state with a positivity average below 8%. But at 7.9% and growing, that might not be the case for very long."

Pritzker: "... When every single metric in every single corner of our state is trending poorly, we have to take meaningful action to keep our people safe."

Dr. Ngozi Ezike, head of the Illinois Department of Public Health: "In the past 24 hours, more than 83,000 tests were reported ... ."
6,363 new cases; total of 395,458.
56 deaths; total of 9,675.
3,030 people hospitalized with COVID-19; 643 in ICU and 269 using ventilators.

Ezike: "Our entire mission during this pandemic is to reduce the number of cases, reduce the number of hospitalizations and reduce the deaths. One way to do that is through contact tracing." It's been done since before the first case.

Ezike: "We collect this information so we can help prevent additional cases." People can quarantine and interrupt the transmission, preventing additional people from being exposed.

Ezike: "Because of the sheer volume of cases ... local health departments across the state are hiring and training more and more contact tracers. But again, as these numbers surge, public health is being stretched, stretched very thin." ...

They might not be able to follow up with every case.

"We are doing our best to collect as much information as possible so we can have the most complete picture of where COVID-19 is spreading. But, of course, we can't do that without participation."

Ezike: IDPH is hearing from local departments every day that people aren't answering the phone or calling back. "Please, if a contact tracer calls you, answer the phone. Please, give as much information as you can."

Ezike: Your name will be kept confidential.

"Please, again, wear your mask, wash your hands and watch your distance. And, of course, also get your flu shot."

Ezike: She's gotten reports of people with flu and COVID-19 at the same time. "We don't want to battle this twin-demic ... ."

Dr. Emily Landon of UC: Experts "predicted this fall would bring more cases, more hospitalizations and more deaths. We hoped that knowing this would help us take steps to avoid it. And many of us did those things." People wear masks and keep distance. "And now, as the weather ...

"gets colder and the cases still rise, we aren't sure what more we can do. You see, we are where we are today for a lot of reasons. But I'm really worried about the misinformation and fatigue slipping into and covering up our best intentions."

Landon: "First of all, inconsistent recommendations are not evidence of a conspiracy, nor are inconsistent data. They're evidence of a changing knowledge in epidemiology."

Landon: "There are new data coming out every day. Science is learning. We change our guidance because we learn something new. Changing advice should make you feel good that we're making progress."

Landon: Every study says masks reduce risks. Common sense says masks reduce risks.

Landon: "Still, no mask is perfect. But there's growing evidence that if you catch COVID while wearing a mask, you may not get as sick."

Landon: "Warmer air is more humid; it has more moisture in it." It keeps droplets "juicy." "But when air cools down, it doesn't hold as much moisture; it's drier, and our HVAC systems are not awesome are putting moisture back into the air ... ." That means your droplets are ...

lighter and can linger in the air. "Fall and winter weather literally make COVID more transmissible."

It also means you're spending more time inside your homes.

Landon: Restaurants/bars are where people gather, and they can't really wear masks. It's the staff there who suffer.

Landon: "This isn't the fault of any particular restaurant. In fact, the proprietors of these places do everything thy can to prevent this from happening." But the reality is their future depends on if someone with COVID walks in. And they're contagious before they feel sick.

Landon: "We can't possibly know when we're a risk" to everyone else. "And we're heading the wrong direction in every metric."

Landon: "Unfortunately, a Halloween party this weekend could become a super-spreader event. And Thanksgiving could be a prologue to a tragedy for your family."

Landon to people who don't believe her: "You may never understand why the rest of us are still worried about COVID. ... It's because we have the grit and the compassion to make sacrifices for the good of our community, for people we don't even know. We pay taxes and stop at ...

"stop signs just like you do. But we know why we do it. And we don't mind. It may be hard, but we'll keep doing it. Because we know real freedom isn't about masks. And you who don't believe me are welcome to join us anytime."