The state of Illinois reported more than 37,000 new cases of coronavirus on Thursday, along with a record-high number of hospitalizations related to the virus, but there are signs that the omicron-driven surge may be beginning to slow.
According to the latest data from the Illinois Department of Public Health, 37,048 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the state over the last 24 hours.
That number is the highest the state has seen in nearly a week, but notably the figure dropped Illinois’ daily case average to 31,495 new cases per day, a 3% drop over the record-high level that was set on Wednesday.
The state has now reported 2,560,001 total cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began in March 2020.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter here.
Over the last 24 hours, Illinois officials reported 142 additional fatalities related to the virus. In all, 28,946 deaths have been tied to the virus since the pandemic began, along with 3,410 fatalities currently classified as “probable” COVID deaths.
The state’s daily average of new tests once again bumped upward on Thursday, with 257,206 new results returned to state laboratories. Illinois is now averaging more than 272,000 COVID tests per day, the highest the state has ever reported.
As a result, the state’s positivity rate showed more signs of decline, dropping to 11.5% for all tests and to 16.2% on individuals tested, according to IDPH data.
Local
Illinois did report a new record-high number of hospitalized patients that are COVID-positive, with 7,380 beds currently occupied by those individuals.
The rate of new hospitalizations is continuing to slow, according to IDPH data. Over the last seven days, the state has averaged a total number of 7,213 hospitalizations, marking a change of 0.56% in the last day.
Of those patients, 1,177 are in intensive care unit beds, the most the state has seen since early Dec. 2020.
In the last 24 hours, 58,899 new doses of the COVID vaccine were administered in the state, dropping Illinois’ average to 51,776 per day over the last week.
In all, 69.1% of the state’s eligible population has been fully vaccinated against the virus, while 78.3% of residents have received at least one dose.
The state reports that 3,479,562 individuals have received their booster shots.
During the pandemic, 6,395 fully-vaccinated individuals have been hospitalized due to COVID-19 infections, with 1,884 patients dying after contracting the virus.
Those numbers represent 0.082% and 0.024%, respectively, of the state’s fully vaccinated population.
Officials say that 70% of fully-vaccinated hospitalizations occurred in patients age 65 and older, with 87% of fully-vaccinated fatalities occurring in that age group.
