Illinois sets another state record for patients in the hospital with COVID-19, and new cases

Three of Illinois’ 11 health care regions are down to fewer than five staffed, available ICU beds, as the state set a new single-day record for new COVID-19 cases and patients in the hospital with COVID-19, according to new data from the Illinois Department of Public Health.

The regions with single-digit ICU beds available:

Region 1 (DeKalb County, Sauk Valley, Rockford): 4 ICU beds available out of 141.

Region 4 (Metro East, near St. Louis): 4 ICU beds available out of 103.

Region 5 (southern Illinois): 2 ICU beds available out of 80. This region ran out of open ICU beds in September during the delta variant surge.

Also, Region 7 (Will and Kankakee counties): 7 ICU beds available out of 133.

IDPH reported 44,089 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 104 additional deaths Thursday. This is the first day with more than 100 COVID-19 deaths in a day since February 11, 2021.

For Wednesday, the state administered 58,684 shots.

The state received the results of 247,830 COVID-19 tests in the 24 hours leading up to Thursday afternoon. The state’s positivity rate is 14.7%

Illinois has seen 2,339,534 total cases of the virus, and 28,260 people have died. The state has conducted a total of 45,758,467 tests since the start of the pandemic.

As of late Wednesday, Illinois had 7,098 COVID-19 patients in the hospital, the highest number for the pandemic. Of those, 1,119 were in intensive care units, and 646 were on ventilators.

Vaccine update: As of Thursday, IDPH reported a total of 22,038,805 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been distributed statewide, with 19,475,871 vaccines administered.

As of the time this story was published, 7,751,759 of the population of Illinois have been fully vaccinated, or 60.84%. Illinois has a population of 12,741,080 people.

Also, 3,275,652 people have received a booster dose, or 25.7% of the state’s population. Among 5-11 year olds, 29.81% have received at least one vaccine dose and 20.88% are fully vaccinated.

CDC numbers:

Among Illinois residents 5 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 8,174,645 (68.6%)

At Least 1 Dose: 9,221,218 (77.3%)

Among Illinois residents 12 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 7,931,812 (73.2%)

At Least 1 Dose: 8,872,411 (81.9%)

Among Illinois residents 18 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 7,353,207 (74.6%)

At Least 1 Dose: 8,225,885 (83.5%)

Among Illinois residents 65 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 1,773,934 (86.8%)

At Least 1 Dose: 1,950,054 (95%)

There can be as much as a 72-hour delay in reporting from healthcare providers on vaccines administered.

In northern Illinois, here is the percentage of the population fully vaccinated by county:

Chicago: 63.08%

Suburban Cook: 67.27%

Lake: 64.80%

McHenry: 61.64%

DuPage: 71.17%

Kane: 61.37%

Will: 61.86%

Kendall: 63.77%

La Salle: 54.61%

Grundy: 53.60%

DeKalb: 52.81%

Ogle: 53.14%

Lee: 55.74%

Whiteside: 49.09%

Bureau: 52.77%

Regional update: All 11 regions in the state are in Phase 5.

Regional data from the IDPH remains on a three-day lag.

The North Suburban (McHenry and Lake counties) region’s positivity rate increased to 17.8%. Currently, 15% of ICU beds are available.

Within this region, McHenry County’s seven-day positivity rate average increased to 21.3%. Lake County, which does about two-thirds of the testing in the region, is reporting a rolling average of 16.5%.

Hospitalizations have increased 10 out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is up to a total of 332 COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

The West Suburban (DuPage and Kane counties) region’s positivity rate stayed flat at 21%. Currently, 13% of ICU beds are available.

Within this region, Kane County’s seven-day positivity rate increased to 23.9%, and DuPage County’s stayed went down to 19.8%.

Hospitalizations have increased 10 out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is up to 687 total COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

The South Suburban (Will and Kankakee counties) region’s positivity rate increased to 22%. Currently, 5.2% of ICU beds are available.

Hospitalizations have increased 10 out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is up to 357 total COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

The North (Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, Jo Daviess, Lee, Ogle, Stephenson, Whiteside and Winnebago counties) region’s positivity rate increased to 17.7%.

Currently, 2.8% of ICU beds are available.

Within this region, DeKalb County’s positivity rate increased to 22.6%, Lee County’s rate decreased to 13.9%, and Whiteside County’s went down to 15.5%.

Hospitalizations have increased 10 out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is up to 324 total COVID-19 hospitalizations.

The North-Central (Bureau, Fulton, Grundy, Henderson, Henry, Kendall, Knox, La Salle, Livingston, Marshall, McDonough, McLean, Mercer, Peoria, Putnam, Rock Island, Stark, Tazewell, Warren and Woodford counties) region’s positivity rate increased to 20.7%.

Within this region, La Salle County’s seven-day positivity rate increased to 19.3%. Currently, 11% of ICU beds are available. Hospitalizations have increased 10 out of the past 10 days. The region is up to a total of 504 COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

Chicago’s positivity rate stayed flat at 18.7%. Currently, 10% of ICU beds are available. Hospitalizations have increased 10 out of the past 10 days.

Suburban Cook County’s positivity rate fell to 19.0%. Currently, 10% of ICU beds are available. Hospitalizations have increased 10 out of the past 10 days in this region.