coronavirus illinois

Illinois Reports 12,542 New Coronavirus Cases, 125 Deaths

Scott Olson/Getty Images

Illinois health officials reported 12,542 new cases of coronavirus and 125 additional deaths on Tuesday as testing numbers returned to higher levels following the long holiday weekend.

The new cases reported Tuesday brought the total number to 738,846 statewide since the pandemic began, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. Tuesday's figures also lifted the death toll to 12,403, officials said.

A total of 116,081 tests were conducted in the previous 24 hours, IDPH said. That marked the first time in five days that that number was back in the six-figure range after a slowdown over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, when daily testing numbers were in the 60,000 to 80,000 range.

In all, the state has performed 10,614,079 tests since the pandemic began, officials said.

The state’s positivity rate climbed to 10.4% Tuesday on all tests conducted, an increase from 10.2% on Monday, which was up a tenth of a point from the day before. In the last seven days, the positivity rate for individuals tested for the virus stands at 12.2%, the same as the day before.

A total of 5,835 patients were hospitalized with COVID-19 statewide as of Monday night, officials said. Of those patients, 1,195 were using ICU beds, authorities say, and 721 were on ventilators.

Contact Us