New cases, number of tests, positivity rate and more - there are a lot of numbers to pay attention to when it comes to the coronavirus in Illinois.
Health officials in Illinois confirmed nearly 2,300 new cases of coronavirus on Wednesday as the state reported a daily testing record along with a slight rise in positivity.
Here's a look at some of the biggest takeaways from the Aug. 19 numbers:
- Wednesday's report of 2,295 new coronavirus cases is the highest single-day report for the state of Illinois, since May 24 – 87 days ago – when the state’s one-day tally was 2,508 new cases.
- But there’s one big difference this time – or, more accurately, nearly 25,000 big differences – today’s new cases are the result of more than 50,000 test results reported by the state over the past 24 hours – 50,299 tests, to be exact. Back on May 24, the state ran just over half that number of tests, with only 25,674.
- The daily tests Wednesday are the highest one-day test total so far in Illinois— marking the first time the state has logged more than 50,000 tests.
- Wednesday's high-case rate can't be explained just by the larger number of tests, however, because Illinois is also reporting another jump in its positivity rate – up to 4.4% today. The rate has ticked up, a tenth of a point each day, for the past four days in a row.
- That rate is still well within most all standards for safety, though it’s inching closer to the World Health Organization’s ceiling of 5%, for a rate that’s considered safe. It’s still far below the state’s ceiling of 8%. And it’s still lower than any of the states that border Illinois
