CHICAGO, Illinois. – The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 2,119 new cases of coronavirus in Illinois, including 80 additional deaths.
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IDPH currently reports a total of 41,777 cases, including 1,874 deaths, in 96 counties in Illinois. The age of the cases varies from less than one to more than 100 years.
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During his daily conference, the Governor discussed services to help those who need mental help during these times of coronavirus.
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“You can send a text message with H-A-B-L-A-R to the hotline 552020, where you will receive a call from a professional who can help you,” said the governor.
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Text messages can be sent to other keywords, such as “food” or “shelter” and you will receive updates on those services.
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Dr. Ezike of IDPH made an urgent recommendation as the poison center has seen an increase in the number of cases seen with people using disinfectants of different sizes – such as gargling, injecting, or others to get rid of the coronavirus.
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Dr. Ezike also said that specialists at the poison center are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to answer any questions by calling the number: 1800-222-1222.
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“But please listen to scientists and health experts on how to stay healthy and protect yourself from getting sick with this new coronavirus.”
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Dr. Angela Sedeño Director of the Kedzie Center – a center that provides mental health services, located northwest of Chicago, also spoke about the importance of mental health.
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“Rest assured that there are resources to meet your basic and mental health needs … it is important to actively take care of our mental health as we do our physical health,” said Dr. Sedeño.
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“We can all benefit from talking to someone during these times … these are difficult times but together we can get through this with greater awareness, compassion and human awareness.”
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For all donations of personal protective equipment (PPE), please email [email protected]. For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email [email protected].
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