State reports drop in COVID-19 cases, test rates

The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 4,711 new and probable confirmed COVID-19 cases on Sunday, the fewest in a week, along with 81 additional deaths from the coronavirus.

The case total represents a sharp drop from the Saturday, when health authorities reported 6,717 new cases, and barely half the 9,277 reported Friday. That's when the state passed 1 million cases since the outbreak began.

However, it is not unusual for case numbers to be lower on Sundays, as some labs do not report test results over the weekend.

Of the 81 deaths reported Sunday, 59 occurred in Cook County, including two residents in their 30s and four in their 40s. Two deaths occurred in each of DuPage, Kane and Will counties, as well. There have now been 17,574 deaths in Illinois caused by the virus, according to the IDPH.

After a post-holiday surge last week that saw the seven-day average case positivity rate climb from 6.8% to 8.6%, the rate is again falling, registering Sunday at 7.9% for the week of Jan. 3 through Jan. 10. The case positivity rate is a metric state officials use to determine the spread of the virus. A seven-day rolling average is used to smooth out any daily anomalies in case and test reporting.

As of Saturday night, 3,527 people were hospitalized in Illinois with COVID-19, down slightly from the 3,589 reported Friday night. Of those in the hospital Saturday, 740 were in intensive care and 391 patients were on ventilators.