Illinois COVID-19 Update: IL reports 2,102 new coronavirus cases, 11 deaths; Pritzker hopeful vaccine will help avoid 4th surge
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Gov. JB Prizker is hopeful that vaccines will help Illinois avoid a 4th COVID surge as state public health officials reported 2,102 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 11 related deaths Monday.
There have been 1,258,736 total cases, including 21,384 deaths in the state.
As of Sunday night, 1,413 patients in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 294 patients were in the ICU and 123 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported testing 59,586 specimens for a total of 20,686,198 since the pandemic began.
The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from March 29-April 4 is 4.5%.
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With statewide hospitalizations up 46% in three weeks, and virus variants a wild card, there's increased urgency to speed the pace of vaccinations.
It is a race between the vaccine and the virus in suburban Cook County as the rise in infections cut across geography and demographics.
Cases in Berkeley and Riverside have more than quadrupled in recent weeks. They've more than tripled in Hanover Park, Harvey and Tinley Park, and more than doubled in Arlington Heights and Wilmette.
Officials are warning of possible new restrictions.
"We may very well have to clamp down within a matter of days. I'm not promising that one way or the other," said Dr. Rachel Rubin, Senior Medical Officer, Cook County Dept. Of Public Health.
But Gov. JB Pritzker is banking on the vaccine.
"I am hopeful that with the rising number of vaccinations, we're averaging over 100,000 per day," Pritzker said. "I'm hoping that we can sort of overcome the surge for the very first time ever."
But officials say that without continued masking and distancing, the next several weeks could allow virus variants - which may be more vaccine resistant - to gain a foothold.
"If we don't get enough people vaccinated and these become the predominant strain, we have to kind of start all over again," said Dr. Susan Bleasdale, Medical Dir. For Infection Prevention, UI Health.
A week before Illinois opens vaccine eligibility to all adults, many in prioritized groups are still trying to get an appointment. Monday night, 30,000 new vaccine slots in Cook County were booked in less than three hours.
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A total of 7,335,385 doses of vaccine have been delivered to providers in Illinois, including Chicago, with an additional 448,830 doses allocated to federal government partners for long-term care facilities, bringing the total number delivered in Illinois to 7,784,215.
A total of 6,318,070 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of Sunday night, including 368,300 for long-term care facilities. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 105,779 doses. There were 27,248 doses reported administered in Illinois Sunday.
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Illinois has administered doses to 70% of residents 65 and older, reaching the threshold needed to move into the Bridge Phase of reopening. However, IDPH said rising hospitalization rates will prevent Illinois from moving into the Bridge Phase. IDPH epidemiologists will continue to focus on the most recent 10 days to monitor any acute trends that prevent the state from reaching the Bridge Phase.
The deaths reported Monday include:
-Cook County: 2 females 70s, 2 males 70s, 3 males 80s
-DuPage County: 1 male 50s, 1 female 60s
-Lake County: 1 female 70s, 1 female 80s
