IDPH reported a total of 1,232,900 cases of COVID-19, including 21,203 deaths, since the start of the pandemic.
As of Thursday night, 1,302 patients in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of these, 264 patients were in the ICU and 120 patients with COVID-19 with ventilators.
RELATED: Illinois COVID Vaccine Map Shows Number of Vaccinated Residents by County
Since March 8, Illinois has seen a 10-day increase in the seven-day moving average of hospital admissions. The positivity of the COVID-19 test on March 10 was 2.5%. The positivity of the test reported today is 3.3%. While these rates are certainly significantly lower than the maximum, they represent a possible early warning sign of a possible resurgence.
Chicago has seen its daily case rate rise nearly 50 percent since last week, along with a six-day increase in test positivity. Suburban Cook County has seen its daily case rate increase by more than 40%, along with a nine-day increase in hospital bed use. Region 1, the northern part of the state, including Rockford and surrounding communities, has seen eight days of increased hospital bed use and six days of increased test positivity.
In the last 24 hours, labs have reported testing 76,774 specimens for a total of 19,972,391 since the pandemic began.
The state’s seven-day preliminary positivity test March 19-25 is 3.3%. Over the last 14 days, the positivity of the test has remained stable or increased every day, from 2.5% to 3.3%.
The Pritzker administration receives the vaccine against COVID
A total of 6,146,815 doses of vaccine have been delivered to Illinois providers, including Chicago, with an additional 414,900 doses allocated to federal government partners for long-term care facilities, making the number total deliveries in Illinois is 6,561,715.
A total of 5,281,618 vaccines were administered in Illinois on Thursday night, including 364,302 for long-term care centers. The rotating average of seven days of vaccines administered daily is 99,449 doses. There were 126,710 doses administered in Illinois on Thursday.
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The IDPH said it is working with the federal government on possible discrepancies in reporting the number of vaccines administered. IDPH said the number of doses administered may be underreported and will update its data if a discrepancy is found.
To address a potentially worrying trend in increased hospitalizations and COVID case rates, the state of Illinois is launching rapid response vaccination equipment in five counties and expanding vaccine eligibility where demand seems to have diminished. The Illinois Department of Public Health has seen slow demand for vaccines in several counties across the state, with first signs of unfulfilled appointments and a larger inventory of vaccines. IDPH authorizes these communities to begin vaccinating all residents 16 years of age or older at their immediate discretion, in order to use the vaccine doses they currently have available.
“Recent increases in hospital admissions and the positivity of testing are affecting new developments and we don’t want to follow the same path we saw before and experience a resurgence of the pandemic, which is why Governor Pritzker told us to use all of our resources to stop these rises, “said Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the IDPH. “We can’t move forward if our metrics go back. The vaccine will help us get to the end of the pandemic, but we must continue to reduce the spread of the virus by wearing a mask, avoiding large crowds, keeping a distance of 6 feet, getting the test after seeing other people and getting vaccinated as soon as possible. “
The federal government projects that Illinois will receive nearly one million doses next week to distribute it, a record high.
Residents should contact their local health department to find out if they have expanded the requirements.
“The state’s number one goal is to vaccinate as many people, as quickly and safely as possible, to stay ahead of the variants,” Ezike said. “This change is similar to what we saw in expanding eligibility for the Phase 1B vaccine to Phase 1B +, where some parts of the state were ready to move forward, while others were not. county is different and local health departments know best how to vaccinate people in their communities as soon as possible. “
While all communities will continue to receive their initial dose allocation, new doses above this initial line will be allocated to high-demand areas where at-risk eligible residents face long waits for appointments.
Mobile rapid response vaccination teams will be deployed over the next two weeks in five counties in Region 1, where IDPH epidemiologists have determined that doses need to be administered quickly to mitigate growing trends. These doses exceed the allocation to local health departments. These mobile equipment will provide Johnson & Johnson one-shot vaccine to county residents. Appointments will be coordinated by the local health department.
Residents of Region 1 are also encouraged to visit the existing mass vaccination site established in Winnebago County.
While Illinois is about to reach 70% of the first doses for residents age 65 and older in the next few days, IDPH is monitoring an increase in new hospital admissions for COVID, which will need to be addressed and resolved. properly before moving on to the Bridge phase. IDPH epidemiologists will continue to focus on the past ten days to monitor any acute trends that prevent the state from reaching the bridge phase.
Chicago loosens outdoor COVID restrictions and maintains most indoor rules
Even with the increase in COVID cases, Chicago health officials announced Thursday that they were easing restrictions on outdoor activities and spaces.
The deaths reported on Friday include:
– Cook County: 1 teenager, 1 man 40 years, 1 woman 60, 2 women 70, 2 men 70, 3 women 80, 1 man 80, 1 man 90
– Johnson County: 1 man aged 60 years
– Kane County: 1 man from the 70s
– Lake County: 1 man of 60 years
– LaSalle County: 1 man from the 70s
– Lee County: 1 man aged 60 years
– Macoupin County: 1 woman aged 60 years
– Madison County: 1 man 30 years, 1 woman 50 years, 1 woman 60 years, 1 man 60 years, 1 man 70 years, 1 woman 90 years
– Marshall County: 1 30-year-old woman
– McLean County: 1 man from the 90s
– Peoria County: 1 man of 60 years
– Sangamon County: 1 man from the 80s
– County of St. Clair: 2 men aged 60, 2 women aged 80 years
– Will County: 1 man from the 70s
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