Gov. JB Pritzker and IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike announced that the latest fatalities from COVID-19 include a state DHS employee and an infant, the first known case of an infant dying from COVID-19.

The latest numbers are:

465 new cases and 13 new deaths

Gov. Pritzker announced that McCormick Place will be converted to a COVID-19 field hospital in the coming days, reiterating that the state is continuing its aggressive two-prong approach to fighting the virus through reducing transmission with social distancing and stay-at-home order measures and increasing medical care capacity.

"We're not waiting for the worst, we're preparing ourselves for the worst," Pritzker said.

Pritzker also said he's making available new best practices for grocery stores that encourage establishments to:

• post signage explaining the 6-foot social distancing requirements.
• mark off spots on the floor so patrons can distance themselves while at checkout.
• direct stores' PA systems to periodically remind people to maintain distance, and ask clerks to walk the floor encouraging people to do so.
• install plastic shields between customers and register clerks at the point of sale, where staying six feet apart isn't practical.
• asking stores to disallow reusable grocery bags for the time being.​

Asked about problems with unemployment claim filings, the governor urged people to be patient and work with the state, that the state has never seen such a “deluge” of applications and the system and staffing were never set up to handle this kind of demand.  He said thing are improving.

There was a media question regarding whether people are immune to COVID-19 once they have it.

Dr. Ezike said that from the research she’s reviewed the virus seems to be stable in that it doesn’t mutate easily and that you develop antibodies that would give you immunity.