COVID-19 hospitalizations decline again as mask mandate removal set for Feb. 28

The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 5,419 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 116 additional deaths Thursday.

The state’s seven-day rolling average for new cases dropped to 5,716 new cases a day, the lowest average since Dec. 2.

Hospitalizations continue to drop in Illinois, as Gov. JB Pritzker said Wednesday he is planning for the state’s indoor mask mandate to come off on Feb. 28, except for in schools.

[ Geneva pediatrician supports Pritzker in waiting to lift school mask mandate ]

As of late Wednesday, Illinois had 2,380 COVID-19 patients in the hospital, the fewest since Nov. 29 and an overnight drop of more than 100 patients. Of those, 432 were in intensive care units, the fewest since Nov. 27, and 238 were on ventilators.

For Wednesday, the state administered 28,060 shots.

The state received the results of 181,053 COVID-19 tests in the 24 hours leading up to Thursday afternoon. The state’s positivity rate is 4.5%

Illinois has seen 2,987,502 total cases of the virus, and 31,795 people have died. The state has conducted a total of 52,553,574 tests since the start of the pandemic.

Vaccine update: As of Thursday, the IDPH reported a total of 23,388,545 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been distributed statewide, with 20,803,108 vaccines administered.

As of Thursday, 8,016,051 Illinoisans have been fully vaccinated, or 62.92% of the population. Illinois has a population of 12,741,080 people.

Also, 4,021,602 people have received a booster dose, or 31.56% of the state’s population. Among 5-11 year olds, 37.48% have received at least one vaccine dose and 29.93% are fully vaccinated.

Among Illinois residents 5 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 8,448,399 (70.8%)

At Least 1 Dose: 9,591,954 (80.4%)

Among Illinois residents 12 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 8,104,125 (74.8%)

At Least 1 Dose: 9,152,518 (84.4%)

Among Illinois residents 18 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 7,494,686 (76.1%)

At Least 1 Dose: 8,462,519 (85.9%)

Among Illinois residents 65 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 1,783,510 (87.3%)

At Least 1 Dose: 1,963,219 (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: 65.64%

Suburban Cook: 69.84%

Lake: 67.07%

McHenry: 63.58%

DuPage: 73.22%

Kane: 63.56%

Will: 64.24%

Kendall: 66.27%

La Salle: 56.63%

Grundy: 55.62%

DeKalb: 54.60%

Ogle: 55.07%

Lee: 56.88%

Whiteside: 50.29%

Bureau: 54.68%

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 stayed flat at 10.9%. Currently, 16% of ICU beds are available.

Within this region, McHenry County’s seven-day positivity rate average decreased to 15.6%. Lake County, which does about two-thirds of the testing in the region, is reporting a rolling average of 8.0%.

Hospitalizations have decreased or remained stable 10 out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is down to a total of 171 COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

The West Suburban (DuPage and Kane counties) region’s positivity rate stayed flat at 9.4%. Currently, 23% of ICU beds are available.

Within this region, Kane County’s seven-day positivity rate stayed flat at 11.1%, and DuPage County’s decreased to 8.3%.

Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable 10 out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is down to 253 total COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

The South Suburban (Will and Kankakee counties) region’s positivity rate decreased to 8.2%. Currently, 14% of ICU beds are available.

Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable 10 out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is down to 122 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 10.1%.

Currently, 12% of ICU beds are available.

Within this region, DeKalb County’s positivity stayed flat at 10.6%, Lee County’s rate decreased to 4.4%, and Whiteside County’s went up to 9.8%.

Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable 10 out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is down to 155 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 decreased to 8.7%.

Within this region, La Salle County’s seven-day positivity rate decreased to XX%. Currently, 23% of ICU beds are available. Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable for 10 out of the past 10 days. The region is down to a total of 249 COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

Chicago’s positivity rate fell to 3.3%. Currently, 15% of ICU beds are available. Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable for 10 out of the past 10 days.

Suburban Cook County’s positivity rate went up to 6.0%. Currently, 16% of ICU beds are available. Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable 10 out of the past 10 days in this region.