COVID-19 hospitalizations drop below 2,000

The number of Illinoisans hospitalized with COVID-19 has dipped below 2,000 for the first time in nearly three months.

As of Sunday, 1,811 Illinoisans were in the hospital with COVID-19, down 111 from Saturday and down 933 from the prior week.

It’s the lowest hospitalizations have been since 1,987 were reported on Nov. 25.

Of the patients in the hospital, 370 were in intensive care units, up six from Saturday and down 141 from the prior week. There were 200 patients on ventilators, down one from Saturday and down 91 from the prior week.

The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 2,734 new COVID-19 cases and eight new deaths on Monday.

The new cases bring the state total to 3,001,771, while the death toll increased to 32,019.

The seven-day average for new cases on Monday was 4,322, down 2,899 from the prior week. The seven-day average for daily deaths is 77, down four from the prior week.

The seven-day statewide positivity rate for cases as a percent of total tests is 3.3 percent. The seven-day statewide test positivity using the number of COVID-19 positive tests over total tests is 4.1 percent.

About 80.3 percent of eligible Illinoisans ages 5 and older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 71 percent are fully vaccinated.

Illinois vaccinators have administered 20,894,572 COVID-19 vaccines, per state data, including 4,057,712 booster doses. The seven-day average of doses administered is 24,116.