Illinois COVID-19 Update: IL reports 2,678 new coronavirus cases, 25 deaths
CHICAGO (WLS) -- The Illinois Department of Public Health officials reported 2,678 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 25 deaths Saturday.
IDPH reported a total of 1,235,578 COVID-19 cases, including 21,228 deaths, since the beginning of the pandemic.
As of Friday night, 1,335 patients in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 264 patients were in the ICU and 115 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
RELATED: Illinois COVID vaccine map shows how many residents vaccinated by county
Since March 8, Illinois has seen 10 days of increases in the seven-day rolling average for hospital admissions, up 20% to 30% in two weeks across the Advocate Aurora Health System.
The COVID-19 test positivity on March 10 was 2.5%. Saturday's reported test positivity is 3.4%. While these rates are certainly significantly lower than the peak, they represent a potential early warning sign about a possible resurgence.
Cook County to release 25,000 1st dose appointments Sunday
Cook County Health will release 25,000 appointments for people get their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
Anyone eligible under phases 1A, 1B, 1B+ and approved essential workers can sign up starting at noon.
The shots will be given at Triton College, South Suburban College, Des Plaines and Forest Park.
In addition anyone previously classified as 1C in higher, education, government, media, restaurants, construction trades, and religious leaders, will be eligible to schedule an appointment.
Appointments can be made at vaccine.cookcountyil.gov or by calling 833-308-1988, Monday - Friday from 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. The call center will be open Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Chicago has seen its daily case rate increase by nearly 50% since last week, along with six days of increases in test positivity. Suburban Cook County has seen its daily case rate increase more than 40%, along with nine days of increasing hospital bed usage. Region 1, the Northern portion of the state including Rockford and surrounding communities, has seen eight days of increasing hospital bed usage and six days of increasing test positivity.
An Advocate Aurora Health System doctor said the vast majority of cases they're seeing are unvaccinated people.
In response, the state is moving mobile vaccination teams into areas where they see a concerning uptick in cases, and loosening the vaccine eligibility criteria in others. All of these metrics could delay how quickly the state moves into the bridge step of Phase 4 reopening plans.
Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported testing 96,175 specimens for a total of 20,068,566 since the pandemic began.
The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from March 20-26 is 3.4%. For the past 14 days, test positivity has either held steady or increased each day, climbing from 2.5% to 3.4%.
Gov. Pritzker gets COVID vaccine
A total of 6,227,895 doses of vaccine have been delivered to providers in Illinois, including Chicago, with an additional 414,900 doses allocated to federal government partners for long-term care facilities, bringing the total number delivered in Illinois to 6,692,795.
A total of 5,418,211 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of Thursday night, including 366,675 for long-term care facilities. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 99,936 doses. There were 136,593 doses reported administered in Illinois Friday.
RELATED: Illinois coronavirus testing: Where to get tested for COVID-19 in Illinois, Chicago area
The IDPH said it is working with the federal government on possible discrepancies in the reporting of the number of vaccines administered. IDPH said it is possible the number of doses administered is underreported and that it will update its data if a discrepancy is found.
Gov. JB Pritzker is allowing health departments in areas where the demand for vaccines among eligible groups is declining to open up shots to anyone 16 and over now instead of waiting until April 12 when it's allowed statewide.
While all communities will continue to receive their baseline allocation of doses, new doses above that baseline will be allocated to high-demand areas where at-risk eligible residents face long waits for appointments.
Mobile rapid response vaccination teams will deploy over the next two weeks in five counties in Region 1 where IDPH epidemiologists have determined there is a need to administer doses quickly to blunt increasing trends. These doses are on top of the allocation to the local health departments. These mobile teams will be providing single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine to county residents. Appointments will be coordinated by the local health department.
Residents of Region 1 are also encouraged to visit the existing mass vaccination site set up in Winnebago County.
While Illinois is on pace to reach 70% first doses for residents 65 years and older in the coming days, IDPH is monitoring an increase in new hospital admissions for COVID, which will need to be appropriately addressed and resolved before 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 Saturday include:
- Cook County: 1 female 60s, 1 male 60s, 1 female 70s, 2 males 70s, 1 male 80s
- DuPage County: 1 male 60s, 1 male 70s
- Johnson County: 1 female 80s
- LaSalle County: 1 male 80s
- Lee County: 1 male 50s
- Madison County: 1 female 50s, 1 male 50s, 2 females 70s, 1 male 70s, 1 male 90s
- Monroe Cunty: 1 female 60s
- Vermilion County: 1 male 90s
- Will County: 1 male 50s, 1 male 60s, 1 female 70s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s
- Winnebago County: 1 female 80s
