COVID-19 update: New cases up by 39%, hospitalizations up by 12.7%, DuPage at 'medium' risk

The seven-day average of new cases of COVID-19 spiked by 39% in a week while average hospitalizations grew at a lesser rate of 12.7%, Illinois Department of Public Health data showed Friday.

Officials also announced that DuPage County, along with Champaign, McLean and Piatt counties, is registering a medium community level of COVID-19 transmission. The rest of the region and state is at a low level.

The IDPH noted that “the case rate has been slowly rising in the state,” although hospitalizations and deaths are “relatively stable.”

The new-infection daily average was 2,793 Friday compared to 2,007 from April 9 to 15.

The seven-day hospitalization average was nearly 548 as of Thursday. It was nearly 482 patients from April 8 to 14.

The increase comes as the highly infectious COVID-19 variant, BA.2, predominates across the U.S.

Overall, COVID-19 metrics are far below highs that occurred in January amid the omicron surge.

With a medium community level, people who are elderly or have an underlying medical condition are advised to wear masks indoors.

On Friday, the state reported 3,807 new COVID-19 cases and nine more people dying from the respiratory disease. The seven-day average for deaths is 8 people compared to 6 people a week ago on April 15.

Patients in the hospital with COVID-19 came to 613 as of Thursday night.

On Thursday, 20,089 more COVID-19 shots were administered. The seven-day average is 17,703.

So far, 8,685,693 Illinoisans have been fully vaccinated, or 68.5% of the state's 12.7 million population, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. The CDC defines fully vaccinated as two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or one dose of Johnson & Johnson's.

Of those people who are fully vaccinated, 50.8% have received a booster shot.

Total cases statewide stand at 3,114,036 and 33,568 Illinoisans have died since the pandemic began.