Illinois reports 1,624 new COVID-19 cases, 20 more deaths
The number of COVID-19 cases rose by 1,624 Thursday, the highest since May 25, and deaths increased by 20, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported.
That leaves the statewide case count at 166,925 and Illinoisans perishing from the respiratory disease at 7,367 in total. The daily case tally May 25 was 1,713.
The state's COVID-19 test positivity rate went up to 3.4% based on a seven-day average after hovering around 3% to 3.1% in the last week. The daily positivity rate is 4.1%.
Meanwhile, later this summer Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital will conduct Phase 3 clinical trials of a COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Oxford University scientists and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, CDH physician Daniel Boyle said.
“It's really incredible how quickly everything has moved with the vaccine process,” Boyle said. “We're hopeful early next year, there will be vaccines available on more of a mass scale,” but it's still early in the process, he noted.
The number of patients in Illinois hospitals with COVID-19 was at 1,473 as of Wednesday night. That's higher than the seven-day average of 1,421 hospitalizations. For context, the average for the previous seven days (July 9 to July 15) was 1,406 patients, representing a 1% increase.
That's a metric state officials are eying, because sustained hospital admissions are a trigger for restricting activities in a region if COVID-19 is surging.
Boyle, an infectious disease specialist at Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital, agreed 1,624 is a high number of cases but that may partly be because “people are more proactive about being tested.”
May 25 marked a time when Central DuPage Hospital was “at our busiest” with COVID-19 cases, Boyle recalled. “There were many, many patients who were extremely sick. Currently, we're still busy but we're seeing younger, more healthy patients being admitted.”
COVID-19 cases currently at CDH comprise about 20% of the patients compared to May 25. At that time, it was “100 to 102; now we're hovering around 20 to 25 patients” with coronavirus, Boyle said.
Another measure of a COVID-19 hotspot is the positivity rate in COVID-19 tests.
The state is divided into 11 public health regions. On Tuesday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker warned the Metro East region near St. Louis, which has a positivity rate of 7%, could experience restrictions such as banning indoor dining if the rate hits 8% for three days.
At CDH, several patients said they contracted the virus from extended family members, Boyle noted, cautioning people to wear masks and social distance at get-togethers with relatives.
“I know people are struggling, they haven't seen their loved ones for so long that it's hard to fault but you still have to be careful,” Boyle said.