COVID-19 In Illinois: 7,214 New Coronavirus Cases, 103 Additional Deaths; Positivity Rate And Hospitalizations Continue To Drop
Deaths from the virus in Illinois remain higher than during the first surge of the pandemic in the spring.
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Deaths from the virus in Illinois remain higher than during the first surge of the pandemic in the spring.
Illinois public health officials Saturday reported 8,737 new cases of COVID-19, including 127 additional deaths.
Over the past week, the state has reported a total of 1,079 virus deaths, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health; compared to 942 during the previous seven days, a 15% increase.
While deaths from the virus are still trending upward, the state's positivity rate has largely been trending downward over the past month.
"I want you to call, or video chat, as many of you did at Thanksgiving," Illinois Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said. "There is still time to change your holiday plans. If you haven't made them, I hope you will take this to heart.
It's the fifth highest daily death toll since the start of the pandemic, and the 17th time in the past month the Illinois Department of Public Health has reported more than 100 deaths in a single day.
The state's seven-day average case positivity rate now stands at 9.9%, the lowest it's been since Nov. 6, when it was 9.6%, which was also the last time it was below 10%.
The FDA is meeting on Thursday to discuss possible approval of the Pfizer vaccine. If approved Illinois could get its first shipment next week.
As of Monday, the state's average case positivity rate stands at 10.3%, compared to 10.9% two weeks ago.
It was the fourth day in a row Illinois has reported at least 100 deaths, tied for the second-longest such stretch since the start of the pandemic.
The Illinois Department of Public Health has reported a total of 12,830 deaths from the virus so far.
It's the first time Illinois has reported more than 200 coronavirus deaths in a single day, and a 25% increase over the previous record of 191 deaths reported on May 13.
It was the highest daily case total in Illinois in 12 days, although the Illinois Department of Public Health also reported the largest testing total in 11 days, so the state saw only a slight uptick in its positivity rate.
"We are still very much in a precarious place, and we have got to take the time to evaluate any Thanksgiving effect before we make any premature adjustments," Pritzker said at his regular coronavirus briefing Monday afternoon.
It was the first time since Nov. 3 the Illinois Department of Public Health has reported fewer than 7,000 new cases in a day, and the fewest daily cases reported since Oct. 28, when IDPH reported 6,110 new cases.
Illinois public health officials Saturday reported 7,873 new cases of COVID-19, including 108 deaths.
The state's seven-day average case positivity rate now stands at 10.1%, marking the ninth time in the past 16 days the rate has gone down.
Since the start of the pandemic, Illinois has reported a total of 685,467 coronavirus cases, including 11,832 deaths.
It was the second day in a row the Illinois Department of Public Health reported fewer than 10,000 new cases. Illinois hadn't gone two consecutive days with daily caseload that low since Nov. 4 and 5.
It was only the second time in 18 days Illinois has reported fewer than 10,000 new cases of the virus.
Gov. JB Pritzker has cautioned it's too early to tell if the recent declines in positivity rates are a meaningful trend or simply an anomaly.
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"These numbers are still extraordinarily high," Gov. JB Pritzker said. Since the start of the pandemic, Illinois has reported a total of 621,383 coronavirus cases, including 11,178 deaths.
Despite the dip in new cases, Illinois surpassed two grim milestones on Wednesday, with more than 600,000 cases and more than 11,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Since the start of the pandemic, Illinois has reported a total of 597,849 coronavirus cases, including 10,875 deaths.
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