Illinois’ average for new COVID-19 cases per day at lowest point since July

The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 1,640 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 45 additional deaths Wednesday.

The state’s seven-day rolling average for new cases dropped to 1,717 new cases per day, the lowest average since July 31.

For Tuesday, the state administered 14,390 shots.

The state received the results of 109,823 COVID-19 tests in the 24 hours leading up to Wednesday afternoon. The state’s positivity rate dropped to 1.6%

Illinois has seen 3,034,701 total cases of the virus, and 32,848 people have died. The state has conducted a total of 54,817,964 tests since the start of the pandemic.

As of late Tuesday, Illinois had 951 COVID-19 patients in the hospital. Of those, 165 were in intensive care units, and 79 were on ventilators, the fewest since July 31.

Vaccine update: As of Wednesday, IDPH reported a total of 23,850,445 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been distributed statewide, with 21,133,040 vaccines administered.

As of the time this story was published, 8,128,110 of the population of Illinois have been fully vaccinated, or 63.79%. Illinois has a population of 12,741,080 people.

Also, 4,157,078 people have received a booster dose, or 32.62% of the state’s population. Among 5- to 11-year-olds, 39.49% have received at least one vaccine dose and 33.65% are fully vaccinated.

CDC numbers:

Among Illinois residents 5 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 8,550,023 (71.7%)

At Least 1 Dose: 9,625,654 (80.7%)

Among Illinois residents 12 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 8,166,835 (75.4%)

At Least 1 Dose: 9,169,184 (84.6%)

Among Illinois residents 18 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 7,544,219 (76.6%)

At Least 1 Dose: 8,473,620 (86%)

Among Illinois residents 65 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 1,785,902 (87.4%)

At Least 1 Dose: 1,963,656 (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: 66.77%

Suburban Cook: 71.10%

Lake: 68.15%

McHenry: 64.44%

DuPage: 74.17%

Kane: 64.67%

Will: 65.27%

Kendall: 67.37%

La Salle: 57.38%

Grundy: 56.58%

DeKalb: 55.56%

Ogle: 55.93%

Lee: 57.62%

Whiteside: 50.92%

Bureau: 55.70%

Regional update: All 11 regions in the state are in Phase 5. Most of the state is in the low or medium COVID-19 community risk level.

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

The North Suburban (McHenry and Lake counties) region’s positivity rate decreased to 3.2%. Currently, 26% of ICU beds are available.

Within this region, McHenry County’s seven-day positivity rate average increased to 4.3%. Lake County, which does about two-thirds of the testing in the region, is reporting a rolling average of 2.8%.

Hospitalizations have decreased or remained stable 10 out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is down to a total of 65 COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

The West Suburban (DuPage and Kane counties) region’s positivity rate stayed flat at 2.8%. Currently, 26% of ICU beds are available.

Within this region, Kane County’s seven-day positivity rate stayed flat at 2.9%, and DuPage County’s decreased to 2.7%.

Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable 10 out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is down to 93 total COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

The South Suburban (Will and Kankakee counties) region’s positivity rate decreased to 2.7%. Currently, 24% 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 38 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 2.8%.

Currently, 20% of ICU beds are available.

Within this region, DeKalb County’s positivity rate stayed flat at 2.4%, Lee County’s rate stayed flat at 0.9%, and Whiteside County’s went down to 2.8%.

Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable 10 out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is down to 59 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 2.3%.

Within this region, La Salle County’s seven-day positivity rate stayed flat at 2.0%. Currently, 24% 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 102 COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

Chicago’s positivity rate fell to 1.2%. Currently, 18% of ICU beds are available. Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable for 10 out of the past 10 days.

Suburban Cook County’s positivity rate stayed flat at 1.7%. Currently, 18% of ICU beds are available. Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable 10 out of the past 10 days in this region.