Average of COVID-19 infections drops by 6% in a week
Average new cases of COVID-19 declined for the sixth day in a row, Illinois Department of Public Health data showed Wednesday.
The seven-day average for new infections was about 2,563 Wednesday compared to nearly 2,731 April 29, a 6% decrease.
That's a metric officials are watching along with hospitalizations if the state is to loosen COVID-19 restrictions in the coming days as expected.
On Wednesday, IDPH's website indicated new hospital admissions for COVID-19 are decreasing. The trend of total patients in hospitals with the virus shows an increase over 28 days, but it is “not significant,” the state reported.
New cases of COVID-19 totaled 2,410 Wednesday with 30 more deaths from the respiratory disease, the IDPH reported.
So far, there are 4,319 cases of more contagious COVID-19 mutations in Illinois; nearly 66% come from a United Kingdom variant and 24% from a strain originating in Brazil.
On Tuesday, 96,415 more COVID-19 shots were administered, a spike from lows on Sunday and Monday because of technical issues that prevented pharmacies from recording inoculations. Tuesday's tally includes 40,000 late-breaking shot reports from the weekend, the IDPH said.
The seven-day average for vaccinations is 71,219.
The state also reported that 60% of adults and 80% of those 65 and older have received at least one dose of vaccine. Meanwhile, 33% of Illinois' 12.7 million population has been fully vaccinated.
The federal government has delivered 12,078,725 doses of vaccine to Illinois since distribution began in mid-December, and 9,546,833 shots have been administered.
Vaccines manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna require two doses several weeks apart. Johnson & Johnson's vaccine takes just one dose.
Illinois hospitals were treating 2,060 COVID-19 patients Tuesday night.
The state's positivity rate for COVID-19 cases is 3.3% based on a seven-day average.
Total cases statewide stand at 1,346,398, and 22,096 Illinoisans have died since the pandemic began.
Labs processed 77,670 virus tests in the last 24 hours.