IDPH to close all community-based COVID-19 testing sites

The Illinois Department of Public Health announced Friday it will close all 10 community-based COVID-19 testing sites on March 31, citing a sharp decline in demand and anticipated end of federal funding.

The sites, which opened in April 2020 and include five that also administer COVID-19 vaccines, have performed more than 1.5 million COVID-19 tests and administered nearly 8,800 vaccine doses.

“Given the availability of free at-home COVID-19 tests from the federal government, the statewide network of federally qualified health centers and the extensive number of SHIELD saliva testing sites throughout Illinois, there are ample, convenient opportunities for Illinois residents to obtain access to a test if needed,” the agency said in a statement.

As of Thursday, 470 Illinoisans were in the hospital with COVID-19, up seven from Wednesday and down 58 from the prior week.

Of the patients in the hospital, 64 were in intensive care units, down five from Wednesday and down 24 from the prior week. There were 33 patients on ventilators, up five from Wednesday and down two from the prior week.

IDPH reported 8,039 confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases last week, up nearly 7.7 percent from the prior week. There were 109 new deaths reported last week, down 11.4 percent from the prior week.

The new cases bring the state total to 3,061,224, while the death toll increased to 33,307.

The seven-day average for new cases on Friday was 1,148, up 81 from the prior week. The seven-day average for daily deaths is 16, down two from the prior week.

The seven-day statewide positivity rate for cases as a percent of total tests is 1.4 percent. The seven-day statewide test positivity using the number of COVID-19 positive tests over total tests is 1.6 percent.

About 81.1 percent of eligible Illinoisans ages 5 and older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 72.4 percent are fully vaccinated.

Illinois vaccinators have administered 21,315,893 COVID-19 vaccines, including 4,259,641 booster doses, per state data. The seven-day average of doses administered is 7,513.

About 59.9 percent of total doses administered went to white Illinoisans, while 15.7 went to Latinx residents, 11.2 percent to Black residents and 7.2 to Asian residents. About 3.1 percent went to those identified as “other races” while 2.3 percent are “unknown.”