Health officials in Illinois on Thursday reported more than 3,500 new coronavirus cases and 25 additional deaths, along with more than 116,000 vaccinations in the past 24 hours.
According to figures from the Illinois Department of Public Health, the 3,526 new confirmed and probable COVID cases reported in the last day brought the state’s total to 1,248,111 cases since the pandemic began last year.
The 25 new deaths lifted the state's death toll to 21,326 fatalities related to the virus, according to health officials.
In the last 24 hours, state health officials say 96,177 test specimens were returned to state laboratories, bringing the statewide total to 20,409,227 tests performed.
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According to health officials, the seven-day positivity rate on all tests currently stands at 3.5% while the positivity rate for individuals tested stands at 4.0%.
As of Wednesday evening, 1,411 Illinois residents were hospitalized due to the virus - down from 1,413 the day before. Of those patients, 304 were in ICU beds and 121 were on ventilators.
A total of 116,551 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 109,073.
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In all, Illinois has received 7,544,135 doses of the vaccine and, of those, a total of 5,918,422 have been administered across the state.
Health officials noted Wednesday that the state has reached the benchmark of 70% of residents age 65 years and older have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccines, but the state will not move into the Bridge Phase of its reopening plan due to hospitalization data.
"While 70% of Illinois residents 65 years and older have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, not all of the metrics needed to advance to the Bridge Phase and on to Phase 5 of the Restore Illinois Plan have been met," IDPH said in a statement.
"The number of people being admitted to the hospital in Illinois due to COVID-19 continues to increase. As long as new hospital admissions continue to increase, the state will not advance. The number of cases of COVID-19 has seen an increasing trend as well," IDPH said. "Health officials continue to urge all residents to continue to mask up, socially distance, and avoid crowds to reduce transmission and bring the metrics back in line to transition to the Bridge Phase."
