Illinois COVID-19 hospitalizations and cases remain in rapid decline

The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 2,538 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 73 additional deaths Thursday.

The state’s rolling seven-day average for new cases dropped to 3,289 new cases per day, the lowest average since Nov. 13.

For Wednesday, the state administered 20,750 shots.

The state received the results of 174,151 COVID-19 tests in the 24 hours leading up to Thursday afternoon. The state’s positivity rate dropped to 2.5%

Illinois has seen 3,010,525 total cases of the virus, and 32,249 people have died. The state has conducted a total of 53,468,470 tests since the start of the pandemic.

As of late Wednesday, Illinois had 1,611 COVID-19 patients in the hospital, the fewest since Nov. 16. Of those, 298 were in intensive care units, the fewest since Nov. 8, and 146 were on ventilators.

Vaccine update: As of Thursday, the IDPH reported a total of 23,657,525 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been distributed statewide, with 20,950,257 vaccines administered.

As of Thursday, 8,064,564 Illinoisans have been fully vaccinated, or 63.30% of the population. Illinois has a population of 12,741,080 people.

Also, 4,077,011 people have received a booster dose, or 31.99% of the state’s population. Among 5-11 year olds, 38.25% have received at least one vaccine dose and 31.31% are fully vaccinated.

CDC numbers:

Among Illinois residents 5 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 8,486,399 (71.2%)

At Least 1 Dose: 9,597,762 (80.5%)

Among Illinois residents 12 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 8,124,203 (75%)

At Least 1 Dose: 9,149,711 (84.4%)

Among Illinois residents 18 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 7,509,146 (76.2%)

At Least 1 Dose: 8,456,980 (85.8%)

Among Illinois residents 65 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 1,783,046 (87.3%)

At Least 1 Dose: 1,960,769 (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: 66.14%

Suburban Cook: 70.32%

Lake: 67.40%

McHenry: 63.90%

DuPage: 73.51%

Kane: 63.91%

Will: 64.59%

Kendall: 66.63%

La Salle: 56.87%

Grundy: 55.94%

DeKalb: 54.87%

Ogle: 55.26%

Lee: 57.04%

Whiteside: 50.42%

Bureau: 54.92%

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 decreased to 5.0%. Currently, 20% of ICU beds are available.

Within this region, McHenry County’s seven-day positivity rate average decreased to 6.3%. Lake County, which does about two-thirds of the testing in the region, is reporting a rolling average of 4.6%.

Hospitalizations have decreased or remained stable 10 out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is down to a total of 108 COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

The West Suburban (DuPage and Kane counties) region’s positivity rate decreased to 5.1%. Currently, 24% of ICU beds are available.

Within this region, Kane County’s seven-day positivity rate increased to 6.1%, and DuPage County’s decreased to 4.6%.

Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable 10 out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is down to 167 total COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

The South Suburban (Will and Kankakee counties) region’s positivity rate decreased to 4.4%. Currently, 17% 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 78 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 5.7%.

Currently, 13% of ICU beds are available.

Within this region, DeKalb County’s positivity rate fell to 5.4%, Lee County’s rate decreased to 3.0%, and Whiteside County’s went down to 6.5%.

Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable 10 out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is down to 120 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 4.6%.

Within this region, La Salle County’s seven-day positivity rate decreased to 4.0%. 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 194 COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

Chicago’s positivity rate stayed flat at 2.0%. Currently, 16% of ICU beds are available. Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable for 10 out of the past 10 days.

Suburban Cook County’s positivity rate fell to 2.9%. Currently, 16% of ICU beds are available. Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable 10 out of the past 10 days in this region.