Officials: More than 6,900 new virus cases in Illinois

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - More than 6,900 new cases of the COVID-19 virus and 36 more deaths have been confirmed in Illinois, according to state health officials.

The 6,943 new infections reported Friday top the new cases Thursday by about 580.

More than 402,000 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Illinois and more than 9,700 people have died since the start of the pandemic, the Illinois Department of Public Health said.

More than 3,000 people currently are hospitalized, with about 670 being treated in intensive care units.

The United States leads the world with 8.9 million confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 228,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic, and cases continue to go up.

The seven-day rolling average for daily new coronavirus cases in the U.S. rose over the past two weeks from 52,350 to more than 74,180, according to data through Wednesday from Johns Hopkins University.

The rolling average for daily new deaths rose over the past two weeks from 724 to 787.