Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Tuesday he has no plans to lift the state’s stay-at-home order, but said his office will make changes to the order going forward.
While the governor has for days said his office was looking at making changes to the order, he was more direct when asked on Tuesday. Pritzker said Illinois still hasn’t hit its peak in coronavirus cases, but said he may lift some restrictions.
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“We will be making some changes to the stay-at-home order as it is, but it is true that it is working,” Pritzker said. “And so to pull it off – the stay-at-home order – it seems to me to remove it as I see some other governors may want to do – to remove it entirely is simply to open everything back up to infection.”
The governor also announced new options for those struggling with student loans. Pritzker said the state secured relief options with 20 private student loan companies to expand on the protections the federal government granted to borrowers.
The new options stand to benefit over 138,000 Illinoisans with privately held student loans.
Under the new initiative, Illinoisans with commercially owned Federal Family Education Program loans or privately held student loans who are struggling to make payments because of the COVID-19 pandemic will be eligible for expanded relief.
“Impacted borrowers can immediately contact their loan provider to get relief with these new options,” Pritzker said.
Also on Tuesday, Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike reported 1,551 new cases of COVID-19, including 119 additional deaths.
Statewide, the department reported a total of 33,059 cases, including 1,468 deaths.
Cases of COVID-19 have been reported in 96 of the state’s 102 counties. Hardin County was the most recent county to join the list.
