Illinois passes 5 million mark for number of COVID-19 tests

CHICAGO (AP) — More than 5 million COVID-19 tests have been conducted in Illinois, a milestone state officials touted on Monday.

The state surpassed the mark Saturday, the same day it reported more than 74,000 tests, the highest in a 24-hour period.

“In a pandemic, widely available testing and faster results mean our people are safer,” Gov. JB Pritzker said in a statement.

Four other states have already tested more than 5 million people, according to the COVID Tracking Project. They are California, New York, Texas and Florida.

On Monday, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported 1,477 new confirmed cases and seven additional deaths. Overall, the state has reported 275,735 confirmed cases, including 8,457 deaths.

State officials said Monday that Illinois has conducted 5,143,387 tests since the beginning of the pandemic.