SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Wednesday that a member of his staff who tested positive for COVID-19 is symptomatic but is in good condition and resting at home.
Pritzker and several other office employees are in self-quarantine until Oct. 12 because they were in contact with the unidentified staffer who fell ill. But the governor and other staffers had negative results when tested Monday.
During the teleconference with Pritzker, the state’s public health director, Dr. Ngoze Ezike, reported that Illinois had 2,273 new confirmed cases and 35 more deaths. That raised the state’s overall totals since the pandemic began to 293,274 cases and 8,672 deaths.
The administration, which has been criticized for refusing to backtrack on its decision to postpone high school fall sports such as football and volleyball, delivered some tough news with restrictions on Halloween festivities.
Instead of trick-or-treating this year, parents could arrange outdoor gatherings where kids and a parent wearing face masks could pick out candy that is spread out on tables, Ezike suggested.
“For anyone wearing a costume, whether a child or an adult, a costume mask is not a substitute for face coverings,” Ezike said. “If face coverings are worn under the costume mask, please ensure that this does not create any breathing problems. And if it does, don’t discard your face covering. Put the costume mask aside.”
The rules forbid haunted houses but allow for hayrides and visits to pumpkin patches and orchards, with limits on participation that allow for proper social distancing.
Pritzker said that increased virus activity in Region 1, which is in northwestern Illinois and includes Rockford, DeKalb, Dixon and Galena, will mean stricter mitigation efforts, including earlier closing times for bars and restaurants. Region 4, which includes the Illinois suburbs of St. Louis in southwestern Illinois, have had stricter regulations for several weeks.
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