Illinois sees fewest COVID cases in nearly 2 months

CHICAGO (AP) - Illinois got some encouraging news on Monday, as the state's health department reported fewest number of COVID-19 cases since late October.

In a news release, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported that there were 4,699 new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases. Monday was the third straight day the totals have fallen and. The state also reported 98 deaths - the third straight day the death toll has not climbed as high as 100 after 12 days of exceeding that grim total.

The latest figures bring the number of cases in Illinois since the pandemic began to 905,069 and the death toll to 15,299.

The last time the daily new cases was below 5,000 was on Oct. 27, a time when the state was just reporting only confirmed cases. Since the state started reporting confirmed and probable cases, the totals have routinely exceeded 10,000.