Health
Illinois Surpasses 900,000 COVID-19 Cases
(WTTW News)
With another 6,003 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 reported Sunday by state health officials, Illinois surpassed the 900,000 mark, with a total of 900,370 infections since the pandemic took hold in the U.S. earlier this year.
December is on pace to become the state’s deadliest month since the first COVID-19 death was reported in Illinois in mid-March, an analysis of public health data shows. So far in December, 2,944 people have died as a result of the virus, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. In May, a total of 3,061 coronavirus-related deaths were reported in Illinois.
IDPH reported 79 deaths Sunday, marking the first time in nearly two weeks that the daily death toll has dipped below 100. Among the deaths reported Sunday were 39 residents of Cook County, including a man in his 40s and a man in his 50s.
Despite optimism over the rollout of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in Illinois at the beginning of the week — and the emergency approval of a second vaccine late Friday — Gov. J.B. Pritzker said health experts believe the upcoming weeks and months could be the deadliest of the pandemic.
“These next few weeks and really these next few months are going to be crucial in our fight to keep people healthy,” Pritzker said Thursday. “Until the vaccine is available to everyone and until we eradicate this virus once and for all, we must continue working to protect one another.”
Like the Pfizer vaccine, which was administered Tuesday for the first time in the state, the vaccine developed by Moderna Inc. and the National Institutes of Health requires two doses several weeks apart, but it does not need to be stored at ultra-low temperatures.
Shipments of that vaccine were being packaged Sunday at a facility in the Memphis area for distribution and the first shots are expected to come Monday.
Full coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic from WTTW News.
The seven-day statewide positivity rate for cases as a percentage of total tests is 7.8%, according to IDPH — a week ago, it was 9.1%. Test positivity across the state — the number of positive tests as a percentage of total tests — is 9.6%. That rate is higher both in suburban Cook County (11.1%) and Chicago (11.3%), IDPH regional data shows.
As of Saturday night, 4,389 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19, according to IDPH — a decrease of 684 from the previous week. Of those, 991 patients were in intensive care units and 546 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators, IDPH reports.
Note: This story was originally published Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020. It has been updated with data released Sunday by the Illinois Department of Public Health.
