For the first time during the COVID-19 pandemic, a Chicago-area hospital says that it has no COVID patients currently admitted to its facility.
Officials with Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood say that they have no COVID patients currently at the hospital, the first time they have been COVID-free since the first patient with the illness was admitted on March 11, 2020.
“It is a testament to the incredible work that our colleagues have done over the last two years to provide excellent patient care,” Dr. Richard Freeman, regional chief clinical officer at the hospital, said in a statement.
According to officials, Loyola Medicine has treated and released more than 9,600 COVID patients during the two years that the pandemic has been raging.
The news comes as Illinois sees a continued downturn in both COVID cases and hospitalizations. According to officials, the state’s positivity rate for COVID tests is now at 1.2%, its lowest level in months, and the state is now averaging 1,113 new cases of the virus per day over the last week, the lowest average seen since July 22, 2021.
As of Wednesday morning, there are a total of 699 COVID patients currently hospitalized in Illinois, the lowest number the state has seen since last July. Of those, 118 are currently in ICU beds, the lowest number reported on a single day since July 20, 2021.
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