32 new deaths, 1,617 cases as some suburban county infection rates climbing again

Will County's seven-day average COVID-19 infection rate is on the rise again, up to 5%, the highest level among the Chicago and the collar counties.

Less than a month after the state lifted business operation and gathering size restrictions imposed on Will and neighboring Kankakee County when their combined regional infection rate exceeded the state's 8% threshold in mid-August, Will County is again experiencing an uptick in cases, according to Illinois Department of Public Health figures.

The infection rate is determined by the number of new cases confirmed from each round of test results released each day. The state uses a seven-day rolling average to smooth out sometimes large daily fluctuations in the number of cases reported and test results returned.

That rate in Will County was hovering around 4.5% for the past week. The state's seven-day average is currently just 3.4%, IDPH officials announced Tuesday. The state also reported 32 more COVID-19 deaths, bringing the state's death toll to 8,836 since the outbreak began.

Another 1,617 infections were confirmed Tuesday as well. During the pandemic, 305,011 Illinois residents have contracted the respiratory disease.

Elsewhere in the suburbs, DuPage County is reporting the lowest seven-day average infection rate, 3.5%, according to IDPH figures. A week ago, the county's average infection rate was at 4.1%.

The seven-day average infection rate for Chicago, Lake County and McHenry County is 4.5%. That's the highest point for McHenry County since the middle of September. In Lake County, that represents an increase of more than one percentage point in 11 days.

For Chicago, the infection rate has been modestly increasing for the past several days.

Suburban Cook County is reporting a 4.1% seven-day average infection rate. That's up slightly over the course of the week but down from a week ago, according to IDPH records.

That's the same scenario in Kane County, where the rate is now 4.3%. It was as high as 5.5% nearly three weeks ago.

The seven-day average infection rate is a key metric state health officials watch to determine whether mitigation efforts should be instituted in a particular region to slow the growth of cases.

The state also looks at hospitalizations, deaths and the amount of testing being done in a particular area before enacting restrictions.

State health officials also reported 1,673 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 Monday. Of those admitted, 384 patients are being treated in intensive care. Both hospitalization figures are up slightly from Sunday's report.