Illinois COVID-19 hospitalizations drop below 900

For the first time since late July, there are fewer than 900 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Illinois.

State health officials Thursday reported 881 COVID-19 patients are being treated in Illinois hospitals, down from 1,183 a week ago.

Of those hospitalized, 162 are in intensive care, according to Illinois Department of Public Health records. That's down from 246 ICU patients a week ago.

IDPH officials are also reporting 38 more COVID-19 deaths, along with 1,169 new cases.

That brings the state's death toll from the virus to 32,886, while 3,035,870 infections have been diagnosed in Illinois throughout the pandemic.

The state's seven-day case positivity rate is at 1.5%, down from 2% a week ago. This metric reached a peak during the last infection surge of 15.2% in early January.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting 67.5% of the state's 12.7 million residents are fully vaccinated. Of those fully vaccinated, 49.2% have received a booster dose too.

IDPH officials are reporting 13,127 more vaccine doses have been administered statewide, bringing the total administered since December 2020 to 21,146,167.