Illinois Surpasses 5 Million COVID-19 Tests; 2,529 New Coronavirus Cases, 25 Additional Deaths
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Illinois has now conducted more than 5 million tests for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, after reporting 74,286 new tests in the past 24 hours, the second highest daily total so far, resulting in 2,529 new cases in the past day.
A total of 5,057,142 tests have been conducted in Illinois so far.
The Illinois Department of Public Health said the seven-day statewide positivity rate for the novel coronavirus stands at 3.5%, the lowest it has been since July 24, when the average rate was 3.4%. That rate had been as high as 4.5% in early September, and more than 15% in May, during the height of the pandemic.
IDPH also announced 25 additional confirmed coronavirus deaths in the past 24 hours. Since the start of the pandemic, Illinois has reported a total of 272,856 cases of COVID-19, including 8,436 deaths.
As of Friday night, 1,479 virus patients were being treated in Illinois hospitals, including 326 in intensive care, and 141 on ventilators. The state's coronavirus hospitalization figures have been relatively flat this summer, even as overall cases were steadily rising for most of July and August.
So far, the vast majority of COVID-19 patients have recovered from the disease, with a 96% statewide recovery rate as of Tuesday. The state's recovery rate calculates the number of people who have tested positive for the virus, and have survived at least 42 days after their test.