Illinois COVID-19 hospitalizations continue decline from pandemic high

COVID-19 hospitalizations in Illinois are continuing their decline from pandemic highs earlier this month, according to new data from the Illinois Department of Public Health.

As of Thursday, 6,054 Illinoisans were in the hospital with COVID-19, down 204 from Wednesday and down 1,266 from the prior week.

Of the patients in the hospital, 972 were in intensive care units, down 61 from Wednesday and down 176 from the prior week. It’s the first time ICU bed usage has been below 1,000 since Dec. 28, 2021.

There were 560 patients on ventilators, down 26 from Wednesday and down 97 from the prior week.

IDPH reported 183,722 new COVID-19 cases last week, a 11.3 percent drop from the prior week. The agency also reported 746 COVID-19 deaths last week, a 1.1 percent increase from the prior week.

The new cases bring the state total to 2,773,362, while the death toll increased to 29,845.

The seven-day average for new cases on Friday was 26,426, down 3,174 from the prior week. The seven-day average for daily deaths is 107, up two from the prior week.

The seven-day statewide positivity rate for cases as a percent of total tests is 11.9 percent. The seven-day statewide test positivity using the number of COVID-19 positive tests over total tests is 15.3 percent.

About 79.4 percent of eligible Illinoisans ages 5 and older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 69.7 percent are fully vaccinated.

Illinois vaccinators have administered 20,207,132 COVID-19 vaccines, per state data, including 3,705,965 booster doses. The seven-day average of doses administered is 44,420.

Of all doses administered, 60.8 percent have gone to white Illinoisans, 14.9 percent to Latinx residents, 10.8 percent to Black residents and 7.2 percent to Asian residents. About 3.3 percent have gone to those identified as “other races” while 2.6 percent are unknown.