COVID Update: IL reports 5,403 new cases, 15 deaths; Cook County at medium level

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Illinois reported 5,403 new COVID cases and 15 new deaths Friday.

IDPH said "daily deaths reported on weekends and at the beginning of the week may be low" and "those deaths will be captured in subsequent days."

There have been at least 3,462,948 total COVID cases in the state since the start of the pandemic and, at least 34,198 related deaths.

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The Illinois Department of Health said the daily case rate per 100,000 people is at 30.9.

As of Thursday night, 1,309 patients in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 149 patients were in the ICU, and 47 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators. Health officials say 22% of hospital beds are available.

A total of 22,731,250 vaccine doses have been administered in Illinois as of Thursday, and 65.19% of the state's population is fully vaccinated. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 7,700.

Cook County is back at a medium COVID community level, based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention metrics, the Chicago Department of Public Health announced Friday.

"It's encouraging to see the County COVID-19 Level drop to Medium again, but I ask Chicagoans to remain cautious as we remain near the High Level threshold," CDPH Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said.

For the past two weeks, Cook County had been in the high COVID-19 level, as both COVID-19 cases and regional hospitalization metrics remained just above the threshold for the medium level.

Will County has also moved from high to medium this week, while Lake and DuPage counties remain at a high level.

At a medium COVID-19 level, people should mask indoors, test in the case of any symptoms or known exposures, and ensure they are up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccines, including boosters.