COVID cases climb in Illinois. Which areas are seeing the highest numbers?
CHICAGO (CBS) -- For the first time in more than two months, new daily COVID cases in Illinois have topped 4,000.
Cases are also rising in Chicago, but they're milder and far less deadly than at any stretch of the pandemic.
CBS 2's Chris Tye looks at the numbers and where in our area cases are highest -- and what it means for your family.
The states around Illinois are seeing cases soar; Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana -- but in Illinois, Lake County and DuPage County are the stories here.
Starting in the western suburbs -- DuPage County cases are up 111 percent over the last two weeks. But the real story over that same stretch -- hospitalizations, cases that are the worst, are down 1 percent. Out in DuPage County, the vaccination rate is 77 percent.
In Lake County near the Wisconsin border, similar story in cases up 98 percent over the last two weeks, but hospitalizations are up 28 percent. The vaccination rate in Lake County is 78 percent.
The city of Chicago has a similar but slightly different story to tell cases in the city are up 25 percent over the last week. 625 a day, hospitalizations very low 12 per day deaths. Dr. Arwady already says they are the lowest on record during the pandemic.
There are two national stories that --. one, in the northeast part of the country. Vermont and New Hampshire. They have seen hospitalizations jump 60 percent in two weeks -- that's the part of the country we don't want to replicate.
And when it comes to the total number of Americans who have actually tested positive for Coronavirus, the CDC says that number now stands at six out of 10 Americans. A lot of data but a lot of moving parts and a lot of a good story to tell.
DuPage County Health officials tell us these spikes aren't unexpected due to the decreases in some of the mitigation and prevention strategies rolled out in DuPage County and nationwide.