Illinois COVID Update: IL reports 5,955 new cases, 15 deaths

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Illinois reported 5,955 new COVID cases and 15 related deaths Friday, marking the largest single-day increase in cases since February 4.

There have been at least 3,138,682 total COVID cases, including at least 33,614 related deaths in the state since the pandemic began.

SEE ALSO | Moderna seeks emergency use authorization for Covid-19 vaccine for children ages 6 months to 5 years

As of Thursday night, 732 patients in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 75 patients were in the ICU, and 32 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.

A total of 21,871,464 vaccine doses have been administered in Illinois as of Thursday, and 64.70% of the state's population is fully vaccinated. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 1,913.

Friday, suburban Cook County moved to a "medium" level of COVID transmission risk due to the increased number of positive cases, according to the Cook County Department of Public Health.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's COVID-19 Community Levels Framework defines "medium" transmission as higher than 200 cases per 100,000 residents, and as of Thursday, suburban Cook County is reporting 210 cases per 100,000 residents in the last 7 days, health officials said.

Based on the current CDC guidance, CCDPH recommends:

In suburban Cook County, more than 1.9 million residents (86% of the population) have received at least one dose of the vaccine and almost 1.5 million (65% are fully vaccinated, according to health officials.

Chicago Public Schools leadership sent a letter to families Friday, saying in part: "CPS will continue doing everything possible to provide all students with the safe, in-person learning environment they need and deserve. You can do your part by carefully monitoring your family's health, by ensuring that everyone in your household who is eligible receives their COVID vaccines and boosters, and by signing your child up for regular COVID-19 testing in school if you have not done so already."

Since the pandemic started, three out of every 1,000 Americans have died of COVID-19.

Over the last two years, more than 993,000 have died from the virus. People 65 and older accounted for about 3/4 of those deaths.

CDC data also shows COVID has been the third leading cause of death in the U.S. both in 2020 and 2021.

Moderna's request for FDA authorization for a COVID vaccine for children aged 6 months to 5 years old could be a game-changer for parents of the 18 million U.S. children who remain unvaccinated. The company has asked for emergency authorization for a two-dose vaccine, with shots given four weeks apart.

Pediatricians say the data shows the Moderna vaccine to be very effective at keeping children out of the hospital and dying. They say side effects are no different than other pediatric vaccines

SEE ALSO | Long COVID symptoms plague sufferers, but new studies could lead to treatments and relief

The seven-day average case rate was reported to be 24.6 cases per 100,000.