Peoria, IL – Governor JB Pritzker today joined U.S. Representative Cheri Bustos, Illinois General Assembly Leaders Jehan Gordon-Booth and Dave Koehler and county and city leaders at a Community-Based Testing Site in Peoria, to announce more than 1 million tests have been performed in Illinois. Testing is critical to preventing additional spread of COVID-19 as Illinois takes a safe and deliberate approach to reopening through the Restore Illinois plan.
“This milestone is the result of the incredible work of so many people behind the scenes in state government, in our National Guard, in our public and private hospital and healthcare systems all around the state – people who were willing to battle it out to build out a testing infrastructure that is accurate, efficient, and accessible,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “And we’re still building – but I’m very proud to be one of the earliest states to hit this landmark.”
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Governor Pritzker remains committed to increase testing accessibility for every community across Illinois. The State has opened 11 Community-Based Testing Sites for anyone to get tested, regardless of symptoms. At these sites, testing is available at no cost to the individual. Furthermore, no appointment, doctor referral, or insurance is required. The state operated Community-Based Testing Sites currently have the capacity to test more than 6,000 people per day.
Building on this robust statewide effort to expand testing, there are now a total of 279 public sites for Illinoisans to access tests. Of the 279 sites, 108 are Federally Qualified Health Centers, committed to providing meaningful, culturally competent healthcare to everyone, regardless of insurance status or ability to pay.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) recommends that anyone who has recently participated in a mass gathering, including recent rallies and protests, to get tested for COVID-19 five to seven days after attending an event or immediately following any symptoms. If there are known cases, precautions can be made to ensure the individual is quarantined and does not risk exposure to others.
A list of public and private testing sites can be found on the IDPH website: http://www.dph.illinois.gov/testing.
