IDPH: Illinois down to 5 counties at ‘high’ COVID-19 risk; 49 at ‘medium’ risk

The Illinois Department of Public Health announced Friday that five counties are considered at “high” risk for COVID-19, down from 33 a week ago. An additional 49 counties are at “medium” risk, down from 55 last week.

“I applaud Illinois citizens for practicing important preventative measures to reduce the spread of infection and protect our hospital capacity,” IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra said in a news release. “It is encouraging to see fewer Illinois counties at an elevated risk for COVID-19, with only five counties currently at high risk. However, as we continue to experience significant levels of flu, COVID-19, and other respiratory infections, it is important to continue protecting those most vulnerable to severe outcomes, especially individuals over 65, those immunocompromised, and those with chronic medical conditions.

“Please celebrate the end of 2022 and welcome 2023 by getting up-to-date with the COVID-19 bivalent booster and getting your yearly flu shot, if you haven’t already. Other important steps to protect you and your loved ones include COVID-19 testing, enhanced ventilation at gatherings, and good hand hygiene. And if you are sick, stay home and reach out to your provider about COVID-19 and flu treatments. I wish all Illinois residents great health and happiness in the new year.”

More than 2 million people in Illinois have received the new bivalent booster dose since it was authorized.

The CDC recommends the following measures for people in areas that are rated at High Community Level for COVID-19 transmission:

• Wear a well-fitting mask indoors in public, regardless of vaccination status (including in K-12 schools and other indoor community settings)

• If you have household or social contact with someone at high risk for severe disease consider self-testing to detect infection before contact consider wearing a mask when indoors with them

• Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines and boosters

• Maintain improved ventilation throughout indoor spaces when possible

The IDPH announced Friday 3,288 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 11 additional deaths.

As of late Thursday, Illinois had 1,767 COVID-19 patients in the hospital. Of those, 225 were in intensive care units, and 80 were on ventilators.

For Thursday, the state administered 12,785 vaccines.

Case rate per 100,000: 17.8 (down 0.6 from Thursday)

Percentage of ICU beds available: 17%

COVID-19-diagnosed hospital admissions (seven-day rolling average): 157 (up 7 from Thursday)

Weekly deaths reported: 47 (down 35 from the previous week)

Illinois has seen 3,969,832 total cases of the virus, and 35,761 people have died.

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.

Vaccine update: As of Friday, the IDPH reported a total of 26,352,215 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been distributed statewide, with 25,726,895 vaccines administered.

As of Friday, 8,415,804 Illinoisans have been fully vaccinated, or 66.05% of the population. Illinois has a population of 12,741,080 people.

CDC numbers:

Among Illinois residents 5 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 8,948,343 (75%)

At Least 1 Dose: 9,902,244 (83%)

Among Illinois residents 18 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 7,842,790 (79.6%)

At Least 1 Dose: 8,676,710 (88.1%)

Among Illinois residents 65 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 1,861,704 (91.1%)

At Least 1 Dose: 2,011,715 (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: 69.36%

Suburban Cook: 73.63%

Lake: 71.55%

McHenry: 66.74%

DuPage: 76.39%

Kane: 67.13%

Will: 67.49%

Kendall: 70.69%

La Salle: 58.91%

Grundy: 58.34%

DeKalb: 56.98%

Ogle: 57.41%

Lee: 59.08%

Whiteside: 52.07%

Bureau: 57.12%