COVID-19 hospitalizations continue decline from recent peak
Hospitalizations from COVID-19 are down 20% from the peak of the state's most recent surge in patients.
Illinois Department of Public Health officials reported Tuesday that 1,881 COVID-19 patients were being treated in hospitals statewide. That compares to 2,346 patients being treated for the virus on Sept. 9, the highest level of the most recent surge.
Of those currently hospitalized, 455 are in intensive care, according to IDPH figures.
State public health records also show COVID-19 patients are taking up less than 6% of all staffed hospital beds statewide, the lowest rate since mid-August.
A year ago, there were only 1,491 COVID-19 patients hospitalized across Illinois, but those numbers were rising at the time and would ultimately peak in mid-November with nearly 6,200 patients being treated for the virus.
Advocate Aurora Health reported 206 inpatients at its Illinois hospitals Tuesday, down 2.8% from a week ago and down 9.6% from a month ago. In Advocate's Wisconsin hospitals, Tuesday's 248 patients represented a 6.4% increase from a week ago and a 49.4% increase from a month ago. “As important as the discussion around booster shots is, we want to keep encouraging unvaccinated people to get their first doses. It's the best way to stay out of the hospital,” said Dr. Robert Citronberg, Advocate Aurora Health executive medical director of infectious disease and prevention.
Dr. Allison Arwady, head of the Chicago Department of Public Health, held a briefing Tuesday about the city's COVID-19 metrics. She said Chicago is seeing fewer than 15 new cases a day for every 100,000 residents, a good sign this surge is waning. However, she noted nationally the numbers remained high.
State health officials also reported 32 more COVID-19 deaths, as well as 2,375 new cases of the disease.
That brings the state's death toll from the virus to 24,892, while 1,621,175 infections have been recorded.
The state's current seven-day case positivity rate is just under 2.5%, continuing its steady decline. Case positivity is the percentage of new cases derived from a batch of test results. A seven-day average is used to account for any anomalies in the daily reporting of those figures.
The seven-day case positivity rates in Chicago, suburban Cook County and the five suburban collar counties are all under 3%, IDPH records show.
IDPH officials also reported 23,898 more doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered statewide.
Illinois vaccine providers have now administered 14,502,329 doses.
More than 55.1% of the state's 12.7 million residents are now fully vaccinated, according to IDPH figures.