COVID-19 In Illinois: New Cases And Deaths Rise Slightly, But Positivity Rate And Hospitalizations Down
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Public health officials reported 8,828 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in Illinois on Thursday including 181 additional deaths.
It's the seventh-highest number of deaths reported in a single day during the pandemic. However, while deaths from the virus remain higher than during the first wave in the spring, the state's average infection rate and the number of hospitalizations have been steadily declining in recent weeks.
The state's seven-day average case positivity rate now stands at 8.4%, the lowest it's been since Nov. 3. The state's positivity rate has largely been trending downward over the past month, after reaching as high as 13.2% on Nov. 13. However it's still more than double the 3.5% positivity rate reported at the start of October.
Hospitalizations from the virus also have been trending downward for more than a month. As of Wednesday night, 4,751 coronavirus patients were being treated in Illinois hospitals, including 1,056 patients in the ICU and 575 patients on ventilators.
While hospitalizations have dropped significantly since peaking at 6,175 on Nov. 20, there are still far more COVID-19 patients in the hospital in mid-December than at the start of the fall surge in early October.
Illinois is averaging 4,960 coronavirus hospitalizations per day over the last week, more than triple the average of about 1,500 per day at the start of October. During the first wave of the pandemic, the state peaked at an average of 4,822 hospitalizations per day in early May.
Since the start of the pandemic, Illinois has reported a total of 879,428 coronavirus cases, including 14,835 deaths.
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