(WSIL) -- Sixty-four people have now tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus in Illinois. That number now includes people in central Illinois and St. Clair County.
State officials have identified 18 additional patients since a press conference Friday afternoon. The new cases are in Cumberland (1), DuPage (1), St. Clair (2) and Woodford (1) counties, as well as Chicago (7), suburban Cook (4), Kane (1) and Lake (1) counties.
In St. Clair County, the patients are a woman in her 60s and a woman in her 70s.聽
According to the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), "Possible exposures and travel histories for the two individuals are still being investigated and public health officials are working to identify and contact all individuals who are close contacts for these two cases. "
In central Illinois, a patient tested positive at a hospital in Mattoon.
鈥淎s we expected, we are beginning to identify cases of COVID-19 outside of the Chicago area,鈥� said Governor JB Pritzker.聽 鈥淥ver the past several days, we have announced aggressive measures to reduce and slow the spread of the virus in Illinois.聽 These are not easy decisions to make and we are not taking them lightly, but we believe these actions will help limit the spread of the virus in our communities and keep our residents safe.鈥�
Governor Prtizker is continuing to urge people to stay home when possible and work from home to try and prevent the illness from spreading.
