15 Illinois counties at “high” risk for COVID-19; 30 counties at “medium”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 15 Illinois counties are now rated at High community level for COVID-19.

The counties listed at High Community Level are: Cook, DuPage, Lake, McHenry, Will, Grundy, Boone, Lee and Winnebago in northern Illinois and Fulton, Knox, Henderson, Mason, Peoria and Tazewell in central Illinois.

At a high community level for COVID-19, the CDC strongly recommends to wear a well-fitting mask indoors in public, regardless of vaccination status.

An additional 30 counties in Illinois are now rated at Medium community level, according to the CDC.

“With 15 counties in Illinois now rated at a High Community Level, everyone in the state should be paying close attention to the guidance from public health authorities and taking action to protect themselves, their loved ones, and friends,” IDPH Acting Director Amaal Tokars said in a news release.

“Everyone should make sure they are up-to-date with vaccinations and booster shots. Wearing a mask in indoor public places and avoiding crowded indoor spaces as much as possible will also make a difference. If you are at risk of severe outcomes, you should also consider avoiding indoor activities in public places. And if you test positive, promptly contact a healthcare provider to discuss which treatment is right for you. The treatments are much more effective at preventing hospitalizations and deaths when they are taken early in the course of the illness.”

IDPH reported 5,659 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and eight additional deaths Friday.

For Thursday, the state administered 17,152 vaccines.

From the IDPH’s data dashboard:

Case rate per 100,000: 41.3 (+1.1 from Thursday)

Percentage of ICU beds available: 21%

COVID-19 diagnosed hospital admissions (7-day rolling average): 106 (-2 from Thursday)

Weekly deaths reported: 45 (-11 from the previous week)

Illinois has seen 3,286,377 total cases of the virus, and 33,806 people have died.

As of late Thursday, Illinois had 1,136 COVID-19 patients in the hospital, an increase of six patients overnight. Of those, 123 were in intensive care units, and 35 were on ventilators.

County-by-county update: As of mid-April, the IDPH will provide a county-by-county update focusing on the case rate per 100,000 people, the percentage of ICU beds available, a rolling seven-day average of COVID-19 diagnosed hospital admissions and weekly deaths.

The definition of a COVID-19 diagnosed hospital admission is as follows: The seven-day average of daily number of hospital admissions given a diagnosis of COVID-19 as measured using the Illinois Syndromic Surveillance System.

Illinois collects all emergency department and inpatient visits through syndromic surveillance from all acute care hospitals in Illinois in near-real time. Data is presented with a three-day lag to allow time for diagnosis to be reported.

At the county level, a visit is counted by where the patient resides. A patient with multiple visits will be counted for each visit. Admissions may not be because of COVID-19 as the primary cause. Syndromic surveillance data is not the same source used by CDC to report COVID-19 hospital admissions data.

Vaccine update: As of Friday, the IDPH reported a total of 27,379,245 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been distributed statewide, with 22,310,797 vaccines administered.

As of Friday, 8,254,727 Illinoisans have been fully vaccinated, or 64.79% of the population. Illinois has a population of 12,741,080 people.

CDC numbers:

Among Illinois residents 5 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 8,743,945 (73.3%)

At Least 1 Dose: 9,675,043 (81.1%)

Among Illinois residents 12 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 8,326,720 (76.8%)

At Least 1 Dose: 9,205,556 (84.9%)

Among Illinois residents 18 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 7,689,363 (78%)

At Least 1 Dose: 8,506,665 (86.3%)

Among Illinois residents 65 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 1,820,142 (89.1%)

At Least 1 Dose: 1,973,767 (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: 67.51%

Suburban Cook: 71.62%

Lake: 69.21%

McHenry: 64.76%

DuPage: 74.04%

Kane: 65.12%

Will: 65.30%

Kendall: 68.69%

La Salle: 57.92%

Grundy: 57.38%

DeKalb: 56.22%

Ogle: 56.63%

Lee: 58.62%

Whiteside: 51.65%

Bureau: 56.45%