As COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to increase statewide, eight Illinois counties were reported at high community level risk for virus transmission, with 39 at medium risk level as of Friday.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the following eight Illinois counties were at high community level risk for COVID: Boone, Lee, Stephenson, Winnebago, Champaign, Ford, Peoria and Tazewell.
At the high level, the CDC recommends that all people in the area wear a mask indoors regardless of vaccination status. Those who are immunocompromised, the CDC suggests avoiding "non-essential indoor activities" in public places.
According to the CDC, a county will be considered at a "high community level” of COVID if it is seeing more than 200 new weekly COVID cases per 100,000 residents, and if it is seeing either 10 or more new COVID admissions per 100,000 residents per week, or if it is seeing 10% or greater hospital bed use by COVID patients.
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The following 39 counties were at medium risk level as of Friday: Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Jo Daviess, Henry, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, LaSalle, Livingston, Marshall, McHenry, Mercer, Ogle, Putnam, Rock Island, Stark, Warren, Whiteside, Will, Woodford, Calhoun, Coles, Cumberland, DeWitt, Douglas, Fulton, Jackson, Johnson, Logan, Madison, Mason, Massac, McLean, Menard, Sangamon and Wabash.
In the 39 counties at medium risk level, the CDC recommends the elderly and immunocompromised wear a mask in indoor public places and receive COVID vaccinations and booster shots, if eligible.
Over the past week, Illinois health officials reported 40,193 new COVID cases, along with 45 additional deaths. While cases have increased slightly, deaths rose by 11 in the last seven days.
The previous week, the state reported 40,026 new cases and 45 deaths. The week before that, the state reported 30,633 new cases and 46 deaths were reported.
In all, 3,249,534 cases of coronavirus have been reported in the state since the pandemic began, according to the latest data from the Illinois Department of Public Health. The additional deaths bring the state to 33,761 confirmed COVID fatalities.
Over the past seven days, the state’s weekly vaccination average rose to 13,167 doses, per IDPH data. Since last Friday, 92,168 doses were administered across the state.
More than 22 million vaccine doses have been administered in Illinois since vaccinations began in December 2020. More than 69% of Illinois resident are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, with more than 76% receiving at least one dose. About 52% are also boosted.
As of midnight Thursday, 1,060 patients were hospitalized due to COVID in the state. Of those patients, 116 are in ICU beds, and 43 on ventilators.
