NOTE: NBC Chicago will offer a live stream of the governor's address at 2:30 p.m. in the player above.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is set to give a COVID-19 update for Illinois Wednesday afternoon.
The governor is scheduled to address the state at 2:30 p.m. from the James R. Thompson Center in Chicago.
The address comes as metrics begin to show signs the state could be moving past a peak in cases caused by the omicron surge, though health officials have stressed that both Chicago and Illinois remain in a surge.
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"I want to be clear - numbers are still extremely high," Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said Tuesday, noting however, that the city is seeing "signs of decline."
The Illinois Department of Public Health reported Tuesday that there were 20,483 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours statewide.
With the data now released from over the holiday weekend, the state is averaging 27,795 new cases of COVID per day, a 14.4% reduction from the high watermark of 32,501 daily cases that was established on Jan. 12, according to IDPH data.
In all, 2,682,983 total cases of the virus have been reported during the pandemic.
The average number of daily fatalities tied to COVID is also beginning to decrease, with 36 new deaths reported over the last 24 hours. In all, 29,350 deaths are tied to COVID through the course of the pandemic, with 3,501 other fatalities currently listed as “probable” COVID-related deaths.
The state’s positivity rate on all tests currently stands at 12.2%, while the positivity rate on individuals tested is now at 15.4%.
Hospitalizations have also begun to decline from their record highs, with 6,695 COVID-positive patients currently in Illinois hospitals. That represents a reduction of more than 9% from the state’s peak of 7,380 hospitalizations on Jan. 13.
Intensive care unit admissions are also declining, but at a slower rate. The total number of ICU patients with COVID now stands at 1,120, a reduction of 4.8% from the high watermark set on Jan. 13.
