Illinois hospitalizations for COVID-19 spike to highest number since mid-June
The number of patients in Illinois hospitals with COVID-19 hit 1,713 as of Wednesday night, the highest number since mid-June, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported.
New cases totaled 2,257 Thursday, with 30 more deaths, officials said. That puts the statewide caseload at 281,371 and deaths at 8,538 since the pandemic struck.
On June 18, there were 1,852 COVID-19 patients in hospitals, and tallies had diminished since then. The state's hospitals were most crowded with virus sufferers in the spring with counts in the high 4,000s and more than 5,000 on a few days.
The number of COVID-19 patients in ICU beds as of Wednesday was 400, the highest since June 29 when 401 people with the virus were in intensive care. However, 35% of Illinois' hospital beds and 38% of ICU beds were available as of Thursday, the IDPH reported.
Wednesday's hospitalization rate also topped the seven-day average of 1,505.
The spike in hospitalizations could be connected with Labor Day, Sept. 7, said Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital physician Daniel Boyle.
Symptoms of COVID-19 appear between two to 14 days after contact with an infected person, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports.
"It matches up," said Boyle, an infectious disease specialist. "Once you start to have symptoms, you tend to get sicker," and that can lead to hospitalization. Experts have noted an increase in virus infections after long weekends when people gather in large groups or families hold get-togethers.
Boyle also noted virus health metrics have been relatively stable in the Chicago region compared to the Rockford area and farther west, where test positivity rates are increasing along with hospital admissions. Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Wednesday a nine-county region, including Winnebago, Jo Daviess and DeKalb counties, could face restrictions unless there's an improvement.
"One concern I have, is we've all been dealing with this for so long - we've become numb to everything," Boyle said. "We're still at risk. People still have got to wear masks and be careful."
State data showed suburban Cook County averaging 22 COVID-19 patient admissions daily as of Monday, with no increases in that number since Sept. 13. The county's hospital bed availability is 28%.
In DuPage and Kane counties, COVID-19 daily admissions averaged 12 as of Monday, with the last increase Sept. 17. Hospital bed availability was at 30%.
In Lake and McHenry counties, virus admissions averaged six as of Monday, with the last increase on Sunday. Bed availability was 38%.
In Will and Kankakee counties, admissions averaged 10 as of Monday, with the last increase Sept. 17. Bed availability was 31%.
Labs processed 62,071 virus tests in the last 24 hours, and the state's positivity rate is 3.5% based on a seven-day average. The daily test positivity rate was 3.6%.
Deaths reported Thursday included: Cook County - one woman in her 50s, a woman and a man in their 60s, two women in their 70s, and two men in their 80s and 90s; DuPage County - a woman and two men in their 80s; Lake County - a man in his 70s; and Will County - a woman and a man in their 70s, and a woman in her 90s.