Illinois COVID-19: IL reports 2,257 new coronavirus cases, 30 deaths

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Illinois public health officials announced 2,257 new cases of COVID-19 and 30 additional deaths Thursday.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in Illinois now stands at 281,371 with 8,538 deaths, the IDPH reported.

As of Wednesday night, 1,713 people are hospitalized with COVID-19, with 400 patients in the ICU and 155 are on ventilators.

RELATED: Jewel-Osco offering at-home COVID-19 test kits in Chicago area

Over a 24-hours period, officials said the state processed more than 62,071 specimens for a total of 5,293,678. The seven-day positivity rate from September 17 - September 23 is 3.5%

The deaths include:

-Bond County: 1 female 90s

-Cook County: 1 female 50s, 1 female 60s, 1 male 60s, 2 females 70s, 1 male 80s, 1 male 90s

-Crawford County: 1 female 70s

-DuPage County: 1 female 80s, 2 males 80s

-Edgar County: 1 female 80s

-Lake County: 1 male 70s

-Macon County: 1 male 80s, 1 female 100+

-Madison County: 1 male 50s, 2 males 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s

-McLean County: 1 female 30s, 1 female 60s

-Rock Island County: 1 male 60s

-St. Clair County: 1 female 70s

-Will County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s

-Williamson County: 1 female 70s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 90s

At his press conference Wednesday, Governor Pritzker said eight of eleven regions are seeing lower positivity rates, including the Metro East Region 4, which is getting closer to the threshold needed to remove additional mitigations.

Governor Pritzker said Illinois' testing capacity has led to lower positivity rates than all of its neighbors.

However, Governor Pritzker warned Region 1 in northern Illinois, which includes the Rockford and Dixon areas, has seen positivity rates rise to 7.5 %, near the 8% threshold that would bring additional mitigations.

Meanwhile, Jewel-Osco announced Thursday that it is now offering at-home testing kits in Illinois.