Testing and tracing are two important factors that will help towards opening up the State of Illinois from the Shelter-in-place order. Governor JB Pritzker spoke about contact tracing during his Friday press conference and what contact tracing is. The importance of tracing is a critical tool towards the reduction of spread rate.

In order to move safely back to normalcy, Governor Pritzker says the need for contact tracing is worldwide.

Governor Pritzker says in order to answer the call for contact tracing, Illinois will be shaping an $80 million contact tracing database start at the end of the month.

The Governor was asked if certain regions could be opened up before May 30th, if they showed a downward trend and had enough hospital beds open. Governor Pritzker said that it is something that he would do, but the conditions would have to be right.

The Illinois Department of Public Health announced 3,137 new cases of COVID-19 including 105  new deaths which brings the total amount to 56,055 cases including 2,457 deaths in 97 of the 102 counties in Illinois. IDPH has tested 284,688 people. Listen every afternoon at 2:30 for Governor Pritzker’s daily press conferences on the coronavirus on NEWSTALK WTIM and its many platforms and for the latest closings cancellations and businesses that are open visit Taylorville Daily News.