COVID-19 hospitalizations, ICU use down by about 21% in October
Hospitalizations for COVID-19 and ICU bed use have both declined by about 21% this month compared to September, Illinois Department of Public Health data showed Thursday.
The delta strain of COVID-19 accelerated infections in Illinois starting in July and by August, average daily hospitalizations were 1,775. That grew to 2,098 patients a day on average in September. So far, that number has shrunk to 1,661 in October.
Similarly, COVID-19 patients in ICUs reached an average of 396 a day in August statewide. That increased to 506 ICU hospitalizations in September, however as of Thursday the October daily average is 398.
New cases of COVID-19 totaled 2,481 Thursday with 51 more deaths from the respiratory disease, the IDPH reported. The seven day average of new COVID-19 cases stands at nearly 2,286.
Illinois hospitals were treating 1,601 patients with COVID-19 Wednesday night.
On Wednesday, 37,337 more COVID-19 shots were administered. The seven-day average is 27,559.
So far, 7,144,033 people have been fully vaccinated, over 56% of Illinois' 12.7 million population. Vaccines manufactured by Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc. require two doses several weeks apart.
The state's positivity rate for COVID-19 cases is 2.1% based on a seven-day average.
The federal government has delivered 17,913,275 doses of vaccine to Illinois since distribution began in mid-December and 14,964,603 shots have been administered.
Total cases statewide stand at 1,663,364 and 25,377 Illinoisans have died since the pandemic began.
Labs processed 127,488 virus tests in the last 24 hours.