Over one-third of Illinois counties now at ‘warning’ level for COVID-19

Thirty-seven of the state’s 102 counties are in the “warning” zone for increased COVID-19 activity, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

That’s up from 26 the prior week.

The department also announced Friday that over 74 percent of Illinois adults have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Additionally, more than 58 percent of Illinois adults are fully vaccinated, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

About 72.2 percent of residents 12 and older have had at least one shot, and 56.4 percent are fully vaccinated.

Illinois vaccinators have administered 13,211,304 doses of vaccine. The seven-day average of doses administered is 22,064.

There were 11,682 new COVID-19 cases reported last week and 39 more deaths. The new cases bring the state’s total to 1,419,611 cases. The death toll is 23,440.

The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test is 4 percent. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity rate is 4.7 percent.

IDPH noted that positivity rates range between regions, with some as low as 2.8 percent and others as high as 9.5 percent.

IDPH reported 733 cases of the B.1.617.2 variant, also known as the delta variant, as of Friday.

The department also reported:

• 6,978 cases of the B.1.1.7 variant, also known as the alpha variant, which was discovered in England in November.
• 111 cases of the B.1.351 variant, also known as the beta variant, which was discovered in South Africa in October.
• 2,646 cases of the P.1. variant, also known as the gamma variant, which was discovered among travelers from Brazil after arriving in Japan in January.