Health officials in Illinois on Wednesday reported 2,793 new coronavirus cases and 20 additional deaths, along with more than 107,000 vaccinations in the past 24 hours.
According to figures from the Illinois Department of Public Health, the 2,793 new confirmed and probable COVID cases reported in the last day brought the state’s total to 1,227,708 cases since the pandemic began last year.
The 20 new deaths lifted the state's death toll to 21,136 fatalities related to the virus, according to health officials.
In the last 24 hours, state health officials say 79,381 new test specimens were returned to state laboratories, bringing the statewide total to 19,805,516 tests performed.
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According to health officials, the seven-day positivity rate on all tests currently stands at 2.8% while the positivity rate for individuals tested stands at 3.1%.
As of Tuesday evening, 1,261 Illinois residents were hospitalized due to the virus. Of those patients, 269 were in ICU beds and 130 were on ventilators.
A total of 107,219 doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered in the past 24 hours, IDPH said. The latest figures brought the rolling seven-day average for daily vaccinations to 97,680.
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In all, Illinois has received 6,268,815 doses of the vaccine and, of those, a total of 5,036,364 have been administered across the state.
“Even as we’re getting more and more vaccine doses, we cannot let our guard down, especially with these virulent new strains circulating,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike in a statement on Tuesday. “We’ve come so far and are so close to a more normal time, but we’re already seeing some concerning plateaus and even increases in hospitalizations and cases. We’re not out of the woods yet so continue to wear your masks, avoid large crowds, and keep six feet of distance.”
Some essential workers who were not previously eligible under Illinois' Phase 1B Plus guidelines now qualify for the COVID vaccine beginning Monday.
