Illinois sees continued decline in COVID-19 hospitalizations, cases

Illinois continued its positive COVID-19 trends last week, according to recent data from the state’s Department of Public Health.

As of Thursday, 676 Illinoisans were in the hospital with COVID-19, down 39 from Wednesday and down 167 from the prior week.

Of the patients in the hospital, 108 were in intensive care units, down 27 from Wednesday and down 45 from the prior week. There were 51 patients on ventilators, down nine from Wednesday and down 26 from the prior week.

The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 8,519 confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases last week, down 18.6 percent from the prior week. There were 149 new deaths reported last week, down 45.2 percent from the prior week.

The new cases bring the state total to 3,045,718, while the death toll increased to 33,075.

The seven-day average for new cases on Friday was 1,217, down 278 from the prior week. The seven-day average for daily deaths is 21, down 18 from the prior week.

The seven-day statewide positivity rate for cases as a percent of total tests is 1.3 percent. The seven-day statewide test positivity using the number of COVID-19 positive tests over total tests is 1.5 percent.

Eighty-one percent of eligible Illinoisans ages 5 and older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 72.1 percent are fully vaccinated.

Illinois vaccinators have administered 21,217,198 COVID-19 vaccines, per state data, including 4,201,921 booster doses. The seven-day average of doses administered is 9,522.

Sixty percent of total doses administered went to white Illinoisans, while 15.5 went to Latinx residents, 11.1 percent to Black residents and 7.2 to Asian residents. About 3.2 percent went to those identified as “other races” while 2.5 percent are “unknown.”