Gov. JB Pritzker warned businesses that defy his emergency orders and reopen that they could expose themselves to liability issues and jeopardize insurance coverage.

“It would not surprise me if insurance companies are found to not have to cover you,” Pritzker said during Monday’s daily press briefing on the COVID-19 outbreak.

His comments echoed caution from legal circles and the insurance industry aimed at those seeking to defy the state’s executive order and open businesses to the public.

“I would not want to defy the executive order because I believe I would be taking on liability if I did that,” Pritzker said.

His warnings come as local officials in places like East Peoria say they’ll unilaterally open businesses and ignore the governor’s orders. Pritzker said those communities and businesses are running the risk of infecting the people who work there and patronize those stories.

On Monday, the governor reported 2,341 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, bringing the state's total cases to 63,840.

There were 46 additional deaths in the last day, bringing the death toll to 2,662 since the state began tracking the outbreak more than two months ago.

Of the 13,834 test results delivered in the last 24 hours, 17% were positive, Pritzker said.

As of Monday, 4,493 people were hospitalized due to COVID-19, a drop of 179 cases from the previous week. But the governor said Intensive Care Unit capacity varies greatly across Illinois. More than 51% of ICU beds are available in Rockford (that’s 86 beds available) while just 27.5% were available in Edwardsville (that’s 25 beds available).

Pritzker said the state is counting on local officials to enforce the stay-at-home order, but repeated that he hoped police would disperse crowds and that he didn’t want to see arrests.

He reminded people that social distancing is the only real tactic to fight the disease.

“We have no vaccine. We have no treatment that keeps people out of the hospital,” he said.

The governor said the Illinois Department of Employment Security continues to work through the onslaught of unemployment claims and that while phone lines have been expanded, “It’s still not enough.”

He said he would address the unemployment system specifically later this week.

Pritzker also said that he would unveil his phased plan for reopening Illinois before the current order expires at the end of the month.

The state hit a new high mark for testing Sunday, returning nearly 20,000 COVID-19 tests results in the last 24 hours, as Gov. JB Pritzker continued to stress that expanded capacity to check people for the virus is the key to reducing existing economic and social restrictions.

Among the 19,417 test results were 2,994 new infections. The outbreak has spread to at least 97 of the state’s counties.

Pritzker also reported 63 deaths in the past 24 hours to COVID-19, taking the state’s total for fatalities to 2,618 since the outbreak began more than two months ago.

Across the state, 4,701 people were hospitalized with infections. Of them, 1,232 were in Intensive Care Units and 759 of those patients were on ventilators.

Pritzker announced that the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation partnered with a group of banks to allow non-customers to cash stimulus checks without any fees. The governor encouraged anyone without a bank account who receives a paper check to utilize one of these banks to cash the stimulus check to get the full economic effect and not lose any of it to check cashing fees.

The banks are: Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, U.S. Bank, Fifth Third and First Midwest.

Pritzker was asked about reports of numerous house parties and other defiance of the stay-at-home order over the weekend.

He urged people to follow the rules and that it might be two weeks before people learn how many infections spread because of these parties.

Asked about whether his two-person per boat rule might be altered, the governor said enforcement is up to local officials but that the rule follows the data about concerns of large groups of people being in small spaces.

Pritzker was asked why dog groomers were open but hair salons were not.

He responded that a pet groomer doesn’t have to come within 6 feet of someone who has COVID-19.

Asked about movement on federal package to aid states, Pritzker said he was on the phone with U.S. Senator Durbin yesterday and there appears to be real support for helping the states and that the governor’s particular concerns was making sure smaller governments’ needs were addressed.

The governor also noted that May is “National Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month,” a time to recognize and honor the role that Asian and Pacific Islander immigrants have played in shaping our country, often while enduring racism and xenophobia.

Press release:

Public Health Officials Announce 2,994 New Cases of Coronavirus Disease

Sunday, May 3, 2020 - Public Health, Department of

SPRINGFIELD - The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 2,994 new cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 63 additional deaths.

• Cook County: 2 males 40s, 3 females 50s, 3 males 50s, 4 females 60s, 7 males 60s, 1 female 70s, 9 males 70s, 5 females 80s, 5 males 80s, 4 females 90s, 4 males 90s
• DuPage County: 1 female 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s
• Jefferson County: 1 male 80s
• Kane County: 1 male 70s
• Lake County: 1 male 30s, 1 female 70s
• Madison County: 1 female 60s, 1 male 90s
• Monroe County: 1 female 90s
• Will County: 1 female 70s
• Winnebago County: 1 male 50s, 1 female 60s, 1 female 70s, 2 females 90s

Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 61,499 cases, including 2,618 deaths, in 97 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have processed 19,417 specimens for a total of 319,313.

For all personal protective equipment (PPE) donations, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

*All data are provisional and will change. Information for deaths previously reported have changed, therefore, today's numbers have been adjusted. For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.