Coronavirus cases requiring hospitalization in Illinois have continued to decline after a brief upward trend in those metrics earlier this year.
According to the latest data available from the Illinois Department of Public Health, there were 1,393 patients hospitalized due to coronavirus in the state as of midnight. That number is the lowest the state has recorded since late March, and represents a continued decline in the number of hospitalizations associated with the virus.
The state experienced a short-lived bump in hospitalizations beginning in late March and extending into mid-April, with a peak hospitalization total of 2,218, which was hit on April 18, according to IDPH data.
After remaining over the 2,000 mark until early May, the number of hospitalizations has begun to decline dramatically, dropping to levels not seen since March.
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.
At its lowest point the state had 1,082 patients hospitalized due to COVID on March 12, a number the state has not experienced since the pandemic began to accelerate in the spring of 2020.
At its peak, the state saw 6,133 COVID patients hospitalized in late November 2020, which coincided with the largest surge in cases the state saw during the entirety of the pandemic.
Now, with nearly 40% of state residents fully vaccinated and case numbers continuing to decline, experts believe that the number of hospitalizations will also continue to decrease, with that metric serving as a so-called “lagging indicator” of the direction of the pandemic.
Local
The number of critically-ill patients has also declined, with 334 patients currently requiring intensive care unit beds due to COVID. That is the lowest number the state has seen since April 1, and also represents a downward trend in that metric, according to IDPH data.
