New hospital admissions for COVID-19 decline for third straight day

The Illinois Department of Public Health reported a pandemic state record 7,380 patients in the hospital with COVID-19 as of late Wednesday, but there may be signs of a coming decline for hospitalizations according to the most recent state data.

New admissions for COVID-19-like illness, defined as if a patient presents with a fever and either cough, difficulty breathing or is given a diagnosis of COVID-19, have declined for three consecutive days, from 645 new admissions on Jan. 7 to be 608 admissions on January 10.

In addition to declining admissions, the rolling seven-day average for new cases has declined to a still very high 31,495 new cases per day.

At a news conference Wednesday, IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said it was too soon to say whether or not the omicron variant surge has peaked.

“You really want to see a consistent decline,” Ezike said. “I will be the first to announce it when we can say that pretty confidently, cross my fingers and toes, but I just don’t want to get ahead of ourselves.”

The IDPH reported 37,048 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 142 additional deaths Thursday.

For Wednesday, the state administered 58,899 shots.

The state received the results of 257,206 COVID-19 tests in the 24 hours leading up to Thursday afternoon. The state’s positivity rate dropped to 11.5%

Illinois has seen 2,560,001 total cases of the virus, and 28,946 people have died. The state has conducted a total of 47,669,193 tests since the start of the pandemic.

As of late Wednesday, Illinois had 1,177 COVID-19 patients in intensive care units, and 670 were on ventilators.

Vaccine update: As of Thursday, the IDPH reported a total of 22,464,505 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been distributed statewide, with 19,838,302 vaccines administered.

As of Thursday, 7,802,134 Illinoisans have been fully vaccinated, or 61.24% of the population. Illinois has a population of 12,741,080 people.

Also, 3,479,562 people have received a booster dose, or 27.3% of the state’s population. Among 5-11 year olds, 32.11% have received at least one vaccine dose and 22.79% are fully vaccinated.

CDC numbers:

Among Illinois residents 5 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 8,237,327 (69.1%)

At Least 1 Dose: 9,338,637 (78.3%)

Among Illinois residents 12 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 7,967,285 (73.5%)

At Least 1 Dose: 8,955,108 (82.6%)

Among Illinois residents 18 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 7,383,359 (74.9%)

At Least 1 Dose: 8,297,202 (84.2%)

Among Illinois residents 65 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 1,776,303 (86.9%)

At Least 1 Dose: 1,954,015 (95%)

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

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

Chicago: 63.56%

Suburban Cook: 67.72%

Lake: 65.19%

McHenry: 62.04%

DuPage: 71.58%

Kane: 61.77%

Will: 62.27%

Kendall: 64.23%

La Salle: 54.96%

Grundy: 53.96%

DeKalb: 53.15%

Ogle: 53.56%

Lee: 56.15%

Whiteside: 49.35%

Bureau: 53.07%

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 18.1%. Currently, 14% 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 16.8%.

Hospitalizations have increased 10 out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is up to a total of 403 COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

The West Suburban (DuPage and Kane counties) region’s positivity rate decreased to 19.9%. Currently, 10% of ICU beds are available.

Within this region, Kane County’s seven-day positivity rate decreased to 22.2%, and DuPage County’s decreased to 18.9%.

Hospitalizations have increased 10 out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is up to 773 total COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

The South Suburban (Will and Kankakee counties) region’s positivity rate decreased to 22.0%. Currently, 8% of ICU beds are available.

Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable one out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is up to 394 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 decreased to 21.8%.

Currently, 6% of ICU beds are available.

Within this region, DeKalb County’s positivity rate increased to 23.8%, Lee County’s rate decreased to 18.8%, and Whiteside County’s went up to 22.3%.

Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable four out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is down to 319 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 stayed flat at 21.1%.

Within this region, La Salle County’s seven-day positivity rate increased to 21.1%. Currently, 9% of ICU beds are available. Hospitalizations have increased 10 out of the past 10 days. The region is up to a total of 578 COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

Chicago’s positivity rate fell to 15.6%. Currently, 8% of ICU beds are available. Hospitalizations have increased for 10 out of the past 10 days.

Suburban Cook County’s positivity rate fell to 16.7%. Currently, 8% of ICU beds are available. Hospitalizations have increased 10 out of the past 10 days in this region.