Thread by @BauerJournalism

Gov. JB Pritzker has his daily coronavirus update for Illinois at 2:30 p.m. I'll live tweet.

Follow for updates and let me know if you have questions.

Today's numbers: blockclubchicago.org/2020/11/30/85-…

Weekend numbers: blockclubchicago.org/2020/11/30/cor…

Pritzker: Whether virtually or at a distance, I hope everyone found a way to spend time with their loved ones over the weekend.

Pritzker: "... The number of patients fighting COVID-19 in our hospital systems statewide still eclipses our spring peak by 23%. We had hoped to see more progress in lowering hospitalizations by now. The challenge we face was highlighted over the weekend by Dr. Anthony Fauci, ...

"who offered a bleak outlook and a warning that over the next 2 or 3 weeks we may see a surge upon a surge related to the holidays." Dr. Birx also said they're worried about a post-Thanksgiving surge.

Pritzker: The "dip" in Illinois' number of new cases comes as we're still seeing record-high number of hospitalizations.

Pritzker: "No region will be downgraded from our current Tier 3 mitigations for the next few weeks, even if they might be on track to meet those metrics. We are still very much in a precarious place, and we've got to take the time to evaluate any Thanksgiving effects before we...

"make any premature adjustments." He and Fauci spoke today. "He said the massive number of indoor gatherings by people visiting family and friends across the nation will very likely bring a post-Thanksgiving surge, and he believes this is no time to pull back on mitigations."

Pritzker: "I say this as we come off of a Thanksgiving holiday when many people may have dropped their guard and gathered with people from outside of their own households. The hope now is that we can fend off the surge in the next few weeks to get to a healthier holiday time ...

"in the latter half of December. We'll be watching the data closely to monitor for a Thanksgiving-related surge in our case count, our positivity rate," hospitalizations and ICU admissions.

Dr. Ngozi Ezike, head of the Illinois Department of Public Health: "For those of you who did spend Thanksgiving with others outside of your immediate household, I would urge you to get tested later this week." You should wait 6-7 days after possible exposure to be tested. ...

If you have symptoms, get tested right away. In the meantime, exercise the cautions we're supposed to be following: masking, social distancing, etc. Encourage those you were with to get tested, as well.

Ezike: 85 more deaths in past 24 hours. 12,278 total in Illinois.

Ezike: "There is hope on the horizon, but while we await a safe and effective vaccine it's important to remember to be vigilant." Avoid crowds, wear a mask, wash your hands.

Ezike: These actions we take now can change how much virus is circulating in our communities. "We have been fighting this pandemic for so very long, and many of us have suffered in so many ways. But if we stay the course yet a while longer, we will end this pandemic soon."

Pritzker: "Absolutely," there should be an independent investigation into outbreak at the LaSalle veterans home. Inspector general has been brought in to investigate. "I do believe when they turn in a report — their interest is the public's interest ... ."

Pritzker: "I agree that every aspect of this should be looked at. ... It's never acceptable when we see" rampant infection in a facility.

Pritzker: "Of course" people at the veterans home are as important as students at U of I. They're testing once per week and asking staff to follow safety protocols outside the facility.

Pritzker: There are only 1,900 state police troopers. "We have an enormous state, and they cover the entire state." Chicago has ~13,000 police officers. "It isn't just up to state troopers ... to enforce the law."

Pritzker: "We're asking everybody across the state to do what's right, to follow the law."

Pritzker on vaccine delivery: "First, let's acknowledge, I think it was Mary Ann Ahern who actually broke that story about the landing at O'Hare. But it didn't get distributed anywhere in Illinois. My understanding is that Pfizer has a warehouse that's south of Kenosha, and so...

"they are, they have storage capability for their ultra-low temperature vaccinations. It's my understanding that those went to that warehouse ... ."

Pritzker: The Emergency Use Authorization has not been granted by the FDA yet for Pfizer or Moderna. The meeting for Pfizer is scheduled for Dec. 10. Moderna just filed this morning.

Then, the delivery will start to take place a few days later, not the next day.

Pritzker: They originally heard 400,000, then only 80,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine are coming to Illinois in the first batch.

Ezike: They're probably going to dedicate future press conferences to give all of those details (on the vaccine) later this week.

Ezike: "It's gonna take quite a long time, and people need to understand that. Quite a long time just to even get Phase 1 rolled out, and then of course you'll still have the subsequent phases."

Pritzker: "If everybody follows the mitigations, and if we don't see as big a surge as is being discussed nationwide, we'll be able to avoid a stay at home order. ... We're right up against the list of mitigations that you could put in place [before a stay at home]."

Pritzker: "It wouldn't be exactly like the one in the spring if it did happen. But it's not something right now that we think we're gonna have to do." But with hospitalizations "we're at a peak that we haven't seen before ... . If we got a surge like we've had over the ...

"last 3-4 weeks come on top of where we are now, that would be something that would be extraordinarily worrisome for all of us."

Pritzker: "Even though you've gotten through Thanksgiving, you don't know whether you have it or don't have it just because you're asymptomatic." Quarantine, take safety measures, get tested.

Pritzker: We're gonna do an investigation here to determine what happened. "I do want to remind you that we have a number of veterans and a number of veterans homes, and the IDVA has had a pretty good record in those other veterans homes. This is a veterans home that's in a ...

"community that's got very high positivity rate. It's deeply concerning, some of the reports that we hear, the rumors out there, about staff people and whether they handled their properly or whether there was anybody in a supervisory position who may have known about any ...

"failures to follow procedures. That's all deeply concerning."

Pritzker: There is a call for people to give blood so they can attain convalescent plasma that can.

Pritzker: "Amy, you're always asking the same kind of a question, which is, 'Let me take one exception that might have occurred somewhere ... and see what you say.' I don't know who this person is or did that actually happen. Here's what I will tell you. Medicare provides ...

"different rates to doctors for treating different kinds of diseases. Whether you've got the flu and you're in the hospital, whether you caught some other kind of disease ... they get paid at a different rate." The doctors get paid by the hospitals. "When you say, 'Is a doctor...

"'going to fake a death certificate and claim that someone had coronavirus when they didn't really have it?' when the doctor isn't benefiting directly from that, that seems far-fetched to me."

Pritzker: We are waiting from the CDC the recommendations. They have a committee making decisions about the prioritization of vaccines.

Pritzker: There will be decisions made about whether we can reduce mitigations based on positivity rates, hospitalizations, etc.

Press conference over.