COVID Illinois Update: IL reports 1,329 new cases, 40 deaths

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Illinois public health officials reported 1,329 new COVID cases and 40 related deaths Friday.

The video in the player above is from a previous report.

There have been at least 3,037,199 total COVID cases, including 32,926 deaths in the state since the pandemic began.

The seven-day statewide test positivity rate is 1.6%, the lowest figure reported since July 8, 2021.

Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported testing 135,005 new specimens for a total of 55,089,500 since the pandemic began.

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As of Thursday night , 843 patients in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 153 patients were in the ICU, and 77 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.

A total of 21,157,960 vaccine doses have been administered in Illinois as of Thursday, and 63.86% of the state's population is fully vaccinated. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 12,488.

On Tuesday, Illinois Public Health Director Dr. Ngozie Ezike announced she would be stepping down on March 14.

"I did not know fully what I was getting into, but I had ideals that I believed in that would be my guiding light, my north star," Ezike said.