The state of Illinois is seeing increases in its case numbers and hospitalizations, and current data from the Department of Public Health suggests that there isn’t just one specific area of the state that is driving those surges.
In fact, several regions in the state are seeing COVID numbers that would have previously triggered additional COVID mitigations, including Region 1, located in the northwestern corner of the state. There, the positivity rate has risen to 9.3% in recent days, the highest number in the state, and the availability of ICU beds has remained under the 20% threshold for 29 consecutive days, currently sitting at 14%, according to IDPH data.
Under previous IDPH rules, any region with positivity rates in excess of 8%, ICU bed availability below 20%, or increasing hospitalizations would have been subjected to more stringent mitigation rules.
Region 6, located in the eastern portion of the state and including Champaign County, is approaching the 8% threshold for positivity rates, sitting at 7.5%. They’ve also seen recent decreases in ICU bed availability and rapid increases in COVID hospitalizations over the last month, according to IDPH data.
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Region 7, comprised of Will and Kankakee counties, has seen increases in both positivity rates, with that number now at 7.6%, and hospitalizations, which have increased on 26 of the last 30 days. ICU bed availability in the region is also low, sitting at 13%.
Other areas are also seeing rapid rises in hospitalizations and in positivity rates. Region 9, comprised of McHenry and Lake counties, has seen a rapid increase in the positivity rate, nearly doubling from 3.7% on Nov. 17 to 7.2% on Nov. 28.
The region has also seen hospitalizations increase each of the last 10 days, according to IDPH data.
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Here are the current COVID metrics from each of the state’s 11 healthcare regions.
Region 1 (Northwest Illinois):
Positivity Rate – 9.3% (increasing)
ICU Bed Availability – 14% (stable)
Hospitalization Trends – 10/10 days increasing
Region 2 (West-Central Illinois):
Positivity Rate – 6.9% (increasing)
ICU Bed Availability – 17% (stable)
Hospitalization Trends – 7/10 days increasing
Region 3 (West Illinois):
Positivity Rate – 5.8% (increasing)
ICU Bed Availability – 19% (stable)
Hospitalization Trends – 9/10 days increasing
Region 4 (Southwest Illinois):
Positivity Rate – 6.6% (increasing)
ICU Bed Availability – 29% (stable)
Hospitalization Trends – 10/10 days increasing
Region 5 (South Illinois):
Positivity Rate – 4.7% (decreasing)
ICU Bed Availability – 15% (decreasing)
Hospitalization Trends – 6/10 days increasing
Region 6 (East-Central Illinois):
Positivity Rate – 7.5% (increasing)
ICU Bed Availability – 15% (decreasing)
Hospitalization Trends – 10/10 days increasing
Region 7 (Will, Kankakee Counties):
Positivity Rate – 7.6% (increasing)
ICU Bed Availability – 13% (stable)
Hospitalization Trends – 9/10 days increasing
Region 8 (Kane, DuPage Counties):
Positivity Rate – 6% (increasing)
ICU Bed Availability – 24% (stable)
Hospitalization Trends – 10/10 days increasing
Region 9 (McHenry, Lake Counties):
Positivity Rate – 7.2% (increasing)
ICU Bed Availability – 21% (stable)
Hospitalization Trends – 10/10 days increasing
Region 10 (Suburban Cook County):
Positivity Rate – 5.2% (increasing)
ICU Bed Availability – 16% (stable)
Hospitalization Trends – 10/10 days increasing
Region 11 (Chicago):
Positivity Rate – 3.7% (increasing)
ICU Bed Availability – 17% (stable)
Hospitalization Trends – 10/10 days increasing
