SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) -- Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Tuesday said the state needs tens of thousands of additional hospital beds for COVID-19 patients within the next two weeks amid a pandemic that has now claimed 16 Illinois lives.
The Democrat said at his daily briefing that the state will need almost 38,000 additional hospital beds, including more than 9,000 in intensive-care units, along with nearly 5,000 ventilators -- more than double what's available in the state right now.
The administration is evaluating closed hospitals for temporary reuse and setting up National Guard triage centers outside existing hospitals to evaluate potential patients.
