IDPH reported a total of 1,232,900 COVID-19 cases, including 21,203 deaths, since the start of the pandemic.
As of Thursday night, there were 1,302 patients in Illinois who were in the hospital with COVID-19. Of these, 264 were patients in the ICU and 120 patients with COVID-19 on ventilator.
RELATED: Illinois COVID Vaccine Map Shows How Many Residents Have Been Vaccinated By the County
Since March 8, Illinois has seen 10 days of increases in the seven-day moving average for hospital admissions. The COVID-19 test positivity on March 10 was 2.5%. Today’s reported test positivity is 3.3%. While these numbers are certainly significantly below the peak, they are a possible early warning sign of a possible resurgence.
Chicago has seen the daily number of cases increase nearly 50% since last week, along with six days of increases in test positivity. In the suburbs of Cook County, the daily rate of cases is up more than 40%, along with nine days of increased use of hospital beds. Region 1, the northern part of the state including Rockford and surrounding communities, has experienced eight days of increased use of hospital beds and six days of increasing 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 preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from March 19-25 is 3.3%. For the past 14 days, test positivity has remained stable or increased every day, from 2.5% to 3.3%.
Gov. Pritzker is getting the COVID vaccine
A total of 6,146,815 vaccine doses have been delivered to suppliers in Illinois, including Chicago, with an additional 414,900 doses assigned to federal government partners for long-term care facilities, bringing the total number delivered in Illinois to 6,561,715.
In Illinois, a total of 5,281,618 vaccines were administered Thursday evening, including 364,302 for long-term care facilities. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 99,449 doses. 126,710 doses were reported administered in Illinois on Thursday.
RELATED: Illinois Coronavirus Testing: Where to Get Tested for COVID-19 in Illinois, Chicago
The IDPH said it is working with the federal government to address potential discrepancies in reporting the number of vaccines administered. IDPH said it is possible that the number of doses administered may be underreported and it will update its data if a discrepancy is found.
To address a worrying potential trend in increasing COVID hospital admissions and the number of cases, the state of Illinois is launching Rapid Response Vaccination Teams to five counties and expanding vaccination options where demand appears to have declined. The Illinois Department of Public Health has seen vaccine demand in several counties in the state be sluggish, with early signs of unfulfilled appointments and increased vaccine inventory. IDPH authorizes those communities to, in its sole discretion, vaccinate all residents 16 and older to use the vaccine doses they currently have available.
“Recent increases in hospital admissions and positivity in testing are new developments and we don’t want to take the same path we have seen before and are experiencing a resurgence of the pandemic, so Governor Pritzker has instructed us to use all our resources to stop these increases , ”said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “We cannot move forward if our statistics are deteriorating. The vaccine will help us reach the end of the pandemic, but we must continue to reduce the spread of the virus by wearing a mask, avoiding crowds, a distance of 1. , Hold 8 meters., Get tested after seeing others, and get vaccinated as soon as possible. “
The federal government predicts that Illinois will receive nearly 1 million doses for distribution next week, a record high.
Residents should contact their local health department to find out if they are more eligible.
“The state’s main goal is to get as many people vaccinated as quickly and safely as possible to stay ahead of variants,” said Ezike. “This shift is similar to what we saw when expanding vaccine eligibility from Phase 1B to Phase 1B +, where some parts of the state were ready to move forward while others were not. Every province is different. and local health departments know better how to vaccinate people in their communities as quickly and fairly as possible. “
While all communities will continue to receive their baseline allocation of doses, new doses above that baseline will be allocated to areas of high demand, where eligible residents at risk will have to wait a long time for an appointment.
Mobile responsive vaccination teams will be deployed in five provinces in Region 1 over the next two weeks, where IDPH epidemiologists have identified the need to deliver doses quickly to slow rising trends. These doses are in addition to the allocation to the local health departments. These mobile teams will provide one-time Johnson & Johnson vaccine to county residents. Appointments are coordinated by the local health department.
Residents of Region 1 are also encouraged to visit the existing Winnebago County mass vaccination site.
While Illinois is well on track to reach 70% of initial doses for residents 65 and older in the coming days, IDPH is tracking an increase in new hospitalizations for COVID, which must be properly addressed and resolved before moving to the bridging phase. IDPH epidemiologists will continue to focus on the most recent 10 days to monitor any acute trends preventing the state from reaching the bridging phase.
Chicago loosens COVID outdoor restrictions, enforces most indoor rules
Even with the increase in COVID cases, health officials in Chicago announced Thursday that they are relaxing restrictions on outdoor activities and spaces.
The deaths reported Friday include:
– Cook County: 1 teenager, 1 man in their 40s, 1 woman in the 60s, 2 women in the 70s, 2 men in the 70s, 3 women in the 80s, 1 man in the 80s, 1 man in the the 90’s
– Johnson County: 1 man 1960s
– Kane County: 1 man from the 1970s
– Lake County: 1 male 1960s
– LaSalle County: 1 male 70s
– Lee County: 1 man 1960s
– Macoupin County: 1 female 1960s
Madison County: 1 man 30, 1 woman 50, 1 woman 60, 1 man 60, 1 man 70, 1 woman 90
– Marshall County: 1 woman aged 30
– McLean County: 1 man from the 90’s
– Peoria County: 1 male 1960s
– Sangamon County: 1 man out of 80
– St. Clair County: 2 men 60s, 2 women 80s
– Will County: 1 man in his 70s
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