For the third day in a row, the state of Illinois has reported a new record in single-day testing, with more than 46,000 coronavirus tests returned to laboratories over the last 24 hours.
State health officials reported 1,276 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday, along with 18 additional deaths.
The new cases bring the state’s total number of confirmed coronavirus cases to 160,610 since the pandemic began, with 7,290 total deaths reported in connection with the virus.
Saturday’s testing total of 46,099 brings the statewide total to 2,212,398. The overall positivity rate since the pandemic began has continued to drop, now sitting at 7.26 percent, and the 7-day positivity rate dropped for the second day in a row, now sitting at 2.85 percent after more than a week of being above the 3 percent mark.
The state’s recovery rate, defined as the percentage of COVID-19 patients who report no symptoms of the virus six or more weeks after their first positive tests, remains at 95 percent.
Currently there are 1,360 patients hospitalized due to COVID-19, close to the 1,342 patients that were hospitalized when the state reported its lowest number in that category since the beginning of April.
ICU usage by COVID-19 patients continues to remain largely stagnant, with 326 patients currently using ICU beds, and ventilator usage hit another low since the beginning of April, with 119 patients using ventilators as of this weekend.
