As the state of Illinois starts to see reductions in several key COVID-19 metrics, some regions are seeing a rapid decrease in positivity rates and a reversal in hospitalization trends in recent days.
Overall, Illinois has seen its average number of new COVID cases decrease by more than 14% within the last week, with a nearly 10% reduction in hospitalizations of patients that have contracted the virus.
At the regional level, those types of reductions are being seen in most of Illinois’ 11 health care regions.
In the city of Chicago, the positivity rate has plunged to 12.8% in recent days, the lowest in the state. The city’s ICU bed availability is on the upswing at 10%, and the city has seen reductions in COVID hospitalizations on five of the last 10 days, according to IDPH data.
Suburban Cook County is seeing similar reductions in metrics, with the region’s positivity rate now at 13.4%. ICU bed availability has stabilized at 9%, while hospitalizations have decreased each of the last four days.
Outside of the immediate Chicago area, several other regions are seeing positive trends in COVID metrics. In Will and Kankakee counties, where ICU bed availability had been badly strained for several weeks during the omicron surge, the positivity rate on COVID tests has dropped below 18%, and hospitalizations have dropped on six of the last 10 days.
Region 2, representing a large swath of western and central Illinois that includes Peoria and Bloomington, has seen its positivity rate drop to 17.4%, and ICU bed availability is starting to rebound in the region as well.
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The one part of the state where metrics are still trending in the wrong direction is in Region 5, located in the southern tip of the state and comprised of 20 counties in all.
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That region, which had lagged behind the rest of the state when the omicron surge hit, is now feeling the effects, with an increasing positivity rate now standing at 17.5%. ICU bed availability is at 4% and dropping, and hospitalizations have increased on seven of the last 10 days.
Here are the numbers from all 11 of the state’s health care regions.
Region 1 (Northwest Illinois):
Positivity Rate – 19.8% (decreasing)
ICU Bed Availability – 7% (stable)
Hospitalization Trends – 8/10 days decreasing or stable
Region 2 (West-Central Illinois):
Positivity Rate – 17.4% (decreasing)
ICU Bed Availability – 10% (increasing)
Hospitalization Trends – 8/10 days increasing
Region 3 (West Illinois):
Positivity Rate – 20.2% (decreasing)
ICU Bed Availability – 7% (stable)
Hospitalization Trends – 7/10 days increasing
Region 4 (Southwest Illinois):
Positivity Rate – 24% (decreasing)
ICU Bed Availability – 12% (stable)
Hospitalization Trends – 10/10 days increasing
Region 5 (South Illinois):
Positivity Rate – 17.5% (increasing)
ICU Bed Availability – 4% (decreasing)
Hospitalization Trends – 7/10 days increasing
Region 6 (East-Central Illinois):
Positivity Rate – 19.3% (decreasing)
ICU Bed Availability – 14% (stable)
Hospitalization Trends – 6/10 days increasing
Region 7 (Will, Kankakee Counties):
Positivity Rate – 17.8% (decreasing)
ICU Bed Availability – 11% (stable)
Hospitalization Trends – 6/10 days decreasing or stable
Region 8 (Kane, DuPage Counties):
Positivity Rate – 16.9% (decreasing)
ICU Bed Availability – 12% (increasing)
Hospitalization Trends – 8/10 days increasing
Region 9 (McHenry, Lake Counties):
Positivity Rate – 15.8% (increasing)
ICU Bed Availability – 14% (increasing)
Hospitalization Trends – 7/10 days increasing
Region 10 (Suburban Cook County):
Positivity Rate – 13.4% (decreasing)
ICU Bed Availability – 9% (stable)
Hospitalization Trends – 6/10 days increasing
Region 11 (Chicago):
Positivity Rate – 12.8% (decreasing)
ICU Bed Availability – 10% (increasing)
Hospitalization Trends – 5/10 days decreasing or stable
