New COVID-19 infections continue on downward slope in Illinois
The state's number of COVID-19 infections continues to shrink, although the rate of decline is slowing, Illinois Department of Public Health data showed Monday.
New infections hit a daily average of 2,110 between Oct. 19 and Monday, a 3% dip from the daily average of 2,176 cases Oct. 12 through Oct. 18.
That 2,176 average, however, represented a 15.6% drop from the Oct. 5 through Oct. 11 tally of 2,577. And that 2,577 was a 6% decrease from the previous week, Sept. 28 to Oct. 4, when new cases averaged 2,743 a day.
Also Monday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the state had reached agreement on mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations with 7,800 members of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees union who work in congregate settings like veterans' homes. It is the sixth union agreement for vaccination of state workers.
But vaccination negotiations with AFSCME have hit an impasse regarding prison workers at the Department of Corrections and staff at the Department of Juvenile Justice, officials said.
The state will go to arbitration with the union over 10,300 security workers at those departments. But for 1,900 employees in nonsecurity positions, the government is sticking to its Tuesday deadline for a first COVID-19 inoculation, and a Nov. 30 deadline for a second.
New cases of COVID-19 reached 5,140 over the weekend, with 58 more deaths from the respiratory disease, the IDPH reported Monday.
Illinois hospitals were treating 1,198 COVID-19 patients Sunday night, fewer than the seven-day average of 1,298.
Between Friday and Sunday, 107,370 more COVID-19 shots were administered. The seven-day average is 33,711.
There were 2,076 new cases Saturday, 1,499 on Sunday, and 1,565 on Monday.
The state reported 37 deaths on Saturday, 13 on Sunday, and eight on Monday.
The IDPH does not update COVID-19 data on the weekend.
So far, 7,217,688 people have been fully vaccinated, or over 56.6% of Illinois' 12.7 million population. Vaccines manufactured by Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc. require two doses several weeks apart.
The federal government has delivered 18,342,935 doses of vaccine to Illinois since distribution began in mid-December, and 15,311,086 shots have been administered. Total cases statewide stand at 1,686,048, and 25,648 Illinoisans have died since the pandemic began.
Labs processed 71,403 virus tests in the last 24 hours.