As the effects on Illinois’ coronavirus metrics from the Thanksgiving holiday start to come into focus, several regions are seeing improvements in key numbers, while others are seeing things sliding in the opposite direction.
While some regions, including Region 1 in northwestern Illinois and Region 6 in east-central Illinois, are seeing improvements across the board in their statistics, other regions are seeing positivity rates starting to inch back upward, including Regions 4 and 5 in southern Illinois, and that could be a precursor to further hospitalizations due to the virus.
To move out of Tier 3 mitigations, regions must hit the following benchmarks:
-Have a seven-day positivity rate of 12% or lower for three consecutive days.
-Have hospital bed and ICU bed availability of greater than 20% for three consecutive days.
-Register declines in hospitalizations for seven days in a 10-day span.
Here is where each region in Illinois currently stands:
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Region 1 (Northwest Illinois):
This region saw a decrease in its positivity rate, which dropped to 14.7% as of Dec. 3. The region has also seen declines in its hospitalization rates on each of the last 10 days, and remains above the 20% threshold in both hospital bed availability (27.1%) and ICU bed availability (21.8%).
Region 2 (West-Central Illinois):
Hospitalizations declined in the region for the eighth consecutive day, but the region still is far below the 20% threshold in ICU bed availability, currently sitting at 14%. Bed availability overall is at 21.2%, while the region’s positivity rate is now at 13.8%, a slight decline over the last day.
Region 3 (Western Illinois):
This region has seen its positivity rate stay below 12% for 10 straight days, and hospitalizations have declined each of the last 10 days. The only metric the region is failing to clear the threshold on is its availability of ICU beds, but that number did increase to 12% on Sunday. Hospital bed availability also increased to nearly 25%.
Region 4 (Southwestern Illinois):
The region’s positivity rate jumped up to 15.3% on Dec. 3, but hospitalization rates have continued to decrease in the region. ICU bed and hospital bed availability, which have been below the 20% threshold for the last 10 days, are on the upswing again, with 18.6% of ICU beds available and 16% of hospital beds available.
Region 5 (Southern Illinois):
This region also saw its positivity rates move upward on Dec. 3, rising to 13.6%. ICU bed availability rose to 20.1% on Sunday, going above the key 20% threshold, while hospital bed availability continued to rise. Hospitalizations remained steady, but have been on a slow decline in the region.
Region 6 (East-Central Illinois):
This region continues to be closest to moving out of Tier 3 mitigations, as its hospitalization rates have continued to decline, its ICU (25%) and hospital bed availability (30.2%) have continued to rise, and its positivity rate continued to drop (12.1%).
Region 7 (Will, Kankakee counties):
Hospital bed availability (24.9%) and ICU bed availability (20.2%) are on a rapid upswing in the region, with both numbers now over the 20% threshold. The region has also seen 10 consecutive days of declines in hospitalizations. The positivity rate, which had been largely steady, saw a decrease on Dec. 3, moving down to 16%.
Region 8 (Kane, DuPage counties):
This region has seen 10 consecutive days of declines in hospitalizations, but hospital bed availability and ICU bed availability have remained largely steady, sitting at 21.1% and 14.1% respectively. The region’s positivity rate is also inching upward, moving up to 13.2% on Dec. 3.
Region 9 (McHenry, Lake counties):
This region saw its positivity rate drop to 12.5% on Dec. 3, with ICU bed availability (25.2%) and hospital bed availability (18.3%) ticking upward. The region has seen declines in hospitalizations as well, although several days of increases last week have slowed that momentum.
Region 10 (Suburban Cook County):
Hospitalizations continue to decline in this region, while ICU bed (17.2%) and hospital bed availability (20.8%) are very slowly increasing. The region’s positivity rate, which came close to dropping under the 12% threshold recently, is still remaining steady, currently sitting at 12.7%.
Region 11 (Chicago):
Chicago’s positivity rate, which had been below 12% late last month, has increased each of the last three days, going up to 12.6% on Dec. 3. The region has seen declines in hospitalizations on eight of the last 10 days, but its ICU bed availability (19.8%) and hospital bed availability (17.5%) remain below the 20% threshold.
