The day after announcing the highest single-day death total from the new coronavirus in Illinois, the state announced the highest single-day case total in Illinois.

The state reported 1,842 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the state’s total to 27,575.

An additional 62 people in Illinois also died from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, and the state is now reporting 1,134 total deaths from the respiratory illness caused by the new coronavirus.

"Please continue to stay home, continue washing your hands, wear a mask if you must leave. Everyone’s effort is appreciated. It’s noticed," said Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health. "Your efforts have shown that they can flatten the curve."

Thursday marked the highest single-day total for deaths in the state so far.

"It’s never encouraging to see a number go up and not down in this circumstance," Pritzker said at a news conference Friday.

The number of positive results is expected to increase as the volume of testing rises, and Pritzker said Friday’s test volume was the second highest so far.

"Definitely, we did not think we were at our peak yet," Ezike said. "Given that, we do expect cases to rise."

Ezike said the state is following data from hospital admissions, emergency room visits, total cases and total deaths.

Flattening the curve, Ezike explained, can turn a peak into a plateau.

"We’re looking at all of these numbers to figure out exactly where we are in our curve," she said. "We’re not exactly surprised that we would see more cases. There is the extra fact of how many tests were done.

"All of the numbers are being evaluated every day. … I don’t think we’ve peaked."

The curve is flattening, Pritzker added.

"The curve is bending," he said, "but it isn’t flat yet."

Tracking the curveInfogram

Corina Curry: ccurry@rrstar.com; @corinacurry