U.S. 16th District Representative Adam Kinzinger says maintaining health care capacity will be key in combating the coronavirus.
President Trump declared a state of emergency Friday afternoon. That frees up $50 billion for states to address the crisis. Congressman Kinzinger says this will help Illinois overall but a particular focus for the state will be ensuring there remains space in local health care systems to treat the most vulnerable patients.
“The hope here is just to keep that viral curve as flat as we can so it can be housed within the capacity of our health care system. But of course, that’s our major worry, health care system capacity," he said.
Kinzinger said rural areas have less capacity overall than larger urban centers. On the other hand, they lack the large-group gatherings that Kinzinger said facilitate the spread of the virus.