IDPH has reported a total of 1,232,900 COVID-19 cases, including 21,203 deaths, since the pandemic began.
As of Thursday night, 1,302 patients in Illinois were hospitalized with COVID-19. Of these, 264 patients were in the ICU and 120 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
RELATED: Illinois’ COVID Vaccine Map Shows How Many Residents Vaccinated Per County
Since March 8, Illinois has seen a 10-day increase in the seven-day moving average for hospital admissions. The positivity of the COVID-19 test on March 10 was 2.5%. The test positivity reported today is 3.3%. While these rates are certainly significantly lower than the peak, they represent a potential early warning sign of a possible resurgence.
Chicago has seen its daily case rate increase by almost 50% since last week, along with a six-day increase in test positivity. Cook County in the suburbs saw its daily case rate rise by more than 40%, along with a nine-day rise in hospital bed usage. Region 1, the northern portion of the state including Rockford and neighboring communities, saw eight days of increased use of hospital beds and six days of increased test positivity.
In the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported testing 76,774 samples for a total of 19,972,391 since the start of the pandemic.
The positivity of the preliminary test across the seven-day state, from March 19 to 25, is 3.3%. In the last 14 days, the test’s positivity has remained stable or has increased each day, rising from 2.5% to 3.3%.
Gov. Pritzker receives COVID vaccine
A total of 6,146,815 doses of the vaccine were delivered to providers in Illinois, including Chicago, with an additional 414,900 doses allocated to federal government partners for long-term care facilities, bringing the total number delivered to Illinois to 6,561,715 .
A total of 5,281,618 vaccines were administered in Illinois on Thursday night, including 364,302 for long-term care institutions. The seven-day moving average of vaccines administered daily is 99,449 doses. 126,710 doses administered in Illinois were reported on Thursday.
RELATED: Illinois Coronavirus Test: Where to Test for COVID-19 in Illinois, Chicago Area
IDPH said it is working with the federal government on possible discrepancies in reporting the number of vaccines administered. IDPH said it is possible that the number of doses administered will be underreported and that it will update its data if a discrepancy is found.
To address a potential worrying trend of increasing hospitalizations and case rates for COVID, the state of Illinois is launching Rapid Response Vaccination Teams to five counties and expanding vaccine eligibility where demand appears to have declined. The Illinois Department of Public Health has seen demand for vaccines decline in several counties across the state, with early signs of unfilled appointments and increased vaccine supplies. IDPH is authorizing these communities to start vaccinating all residents aged 16 and over, in its immediate discretion, in order to use the vaccine doses currently available.
“Recent increases in hospital admissions and testing positivity are worrisome and we don’t want to follow the same path we saw before and experience a resurgence of the pandemic, which is why Governor Pritzker has instructed us to use all of our resources to stop these increases,” he said. the director of IDPH, Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “We cannot move forward if our metrics are going backwards. The vaccine will help us reach the end of the pandemic, but we need to continue to reduce the spread of the virus by wearing a mask, avoiding large crowds, keeping a meter away, getting tested after seeing other people and getting vaccinated as soon as possible . “
The federal government projects that Illinois will receive nearly 1 million doses for distribution next week, a historic record.
Residents should contact their local health department to find out if they have expanded eligibility.
“The state’s number one goal is to vaccinate as many people, as quickly and safely as possible, to stay ahead of the variants,” said Ezike. “This change is similar to what we saw when expanding the eligibility of the vaccine from Phase 1B to Phase 1B +, where some parts of the state were ready to move on, while others were not. Each county is different and local health departments know better how to vaccinate people in their communities as quickly and equitably as possible. “
While all communities continue to receive their baseline dose allocation, new doses above that baseline will be allocated to areas of high demand, where eligible at-risk residents face long waits for consultations.
Rapid mobile response vaccination teams will be deployed over the next two weeks in five counties in Region 1, where IDPH epidemiologists have determined that there is a need to administer doses quickly to slow rising trends. These doses are beyond allocation to local health departments. These mobile teams will deliver the Johnson & Johnson single injection vaccine to county residents. Consultations will be coordinated by the local health department.
Region 1 residents are also encouraged to visit the mass vaccination site in Winnebago County.
While Illinois is on track to reach 70% of the first doses for residents aged 65 and over in the next few days, IDPH is monitoring an increase in new hospital admissions for COVID, which will need to be properly addressed and resolved before moving on to the bridge. IDPH epidemiologists will continue to focus on the most recent 10 days to monitor any acute trends that prevent the state from reaching the transition phase.
Chicago looses COVID’s external restrictions, maintains most internal rules
Despite the rise in COVID cases, Chicago health officials announced on Thursday that they are easing restrictions on outdoor activities and spaces.
Deaths reported on Friday include:
– Cook County: 1 teenager, 1 man 40 years old, 1 woman 60 years old, 2 women 70 years old, 2 men 70 years old, 3 women 80 years old, 1 man 80 years old, 1 man 90 years old
– Johnson County: 1 60-year-old man
– Kane County: 1 man, 70 years old
– Lake County: 1 60 year old man
– County of LaSalle: 1 man, 70 years old
– Lee County: 1 60 year old man
– Macoupin County: 1 woman, 60 years old
– Madison County: 1 man 30 years old, 1 woman 50 years old, 1 woman 60 years old, 1 man 60 years old, 1 man 70 years old, 1 woman 90 years old
– Marshall County: 1 female 30 years old
– McLean County: 1 man from the 90s
– Peoria County: 1 male, 60 years old
– Sangamon County: 1 man from the 80s
– St. Clair County: 2 men 60 years old, 2 women 80 years old
– Will County: 1 70 year old man
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