COVID-19 In Illinois: More Than 6 Million Doses Of Vaccines Administered, But Cases And Hospitalizations Keep Rising
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Illinois has reached a new milestone in its vaccination efforts, with more than 6 million doses administered statewide, but case counts and hospitalizations continued their recent upward trend.
The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 3,235 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 on Friday, as well as 24 more deaths. Since the start of the pandemic, Illinois has reported a total of 1,251,346 cases, including 21,349 deaths.
Over the past week, Illinois is averaging 2,634 new coronavirus cases per day, up 28% from one week ago.
The statewide seven-day average case positivity rate stands at 3.5% for the second day in a row, up from 2.9% one week ago, and a pandemic-low of 2.1% on March 13.
As of Thursday night, 1,445 coronavirus patients were hospitalized in Illinois, including 314 in the ICU and 129 on ventilators. It's the most daily hospitalizations in Illinois since Feb. 24, and the state is now averaging 1,384 daily COVID-19 hospitalizations over the past week, up 13% from one week ago.
