COVID-19 In Illinois: 6,190 New Coronavirus Cases, 85 Additional Deaths
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Illinois reported its lowest daily COVID-19 case count in more than a month on Monday, with 6,190 new confirmed and probable cases of the virus, though the infection rate still remains much higher than at the start of October.
It was the first time since Nov. 3 the Illinois Department of Public Health has reported fewer than 7,000 new cases in a day, and the fewest daily cases reported since Oct. 28, when IDPH reported 6,110 new cases.
Illinois is averaging 8,812 new cases per day over the past week, down from an average of 11,339 daily cases the previous week, but more than four times higher than the 2,052 cases per day during the first seven days of October.
However, testing also is down significantly over the past week, likely due in part to the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Illinois averaged 86,431 tests per day over the past seven days, compared to 104,504 tests per day during the prior week.
The seven-day average case positivity rate in Illinois stands at 10.2%, down from 10.9% one week ago, but still nearly triple the 3.5% rate at the start of October. The state's case positivity rate peaked at 13.2% in November.
As of Thursday night, 5,849 coronavirus patients were hospitalized in Illinois, including 1,217 patients in intensive care, and 715 on ventilators. While hospitalizations seem to have started trending downward since peaking at 6,175 on Nov. 20, there are still far more COVID-19 patients in the hospital at the end of November than at the start of October.
Illinois is averaging 5,944 coronavirus hospitalizations per day over the last week, nearly four times the average of about 1,500 per day at the start of October. During the first wave of the pandemic, the state peaked at an average of 4,822 hospitalizations per day in early May.
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