March 28, 2024
Local News

COVID-19 has now killed one in every 1,000 Illinois residents

One in every 1,000 Illinois residents has now died from COVID-19, according to the most recent data released by the Illinois Department of Public Health.

State health officials announced 192 more COVID-19 deaths Thursday, bringing the state's death toll from the virus to 12,830 since the outset of the pandemic. According to World Population Review estimates, Illinois' 2020 population is just less than 12.7 million residents.

Illinois joins eight other states that have already reached this grim milestone.

New Jersey has the worst rate, and with 17,803 deaths there, that means nearly two in every 1,000 New Jersey residents have died from the virus.

Cook County is the only county in Illinois to hit this mark as well.

In fact, one in every 800 Cook County residents has died from the virus since the outbreak began, according to IDPH figures.

The state now is averaging 124 deaths each day over the past week. That's the highest daily average the state has experienced during the pandemic, eclipsing the previous record of 117 deaths a day experienced in mid-May.

State health officials also announced Thursday that 10,959 more cases of the respiratory disease were diagnosed, bringing the state's total number of COVID-19 cases to 759,562 since the outbreak began.

The state's seven-day average infection rate now stands at 10.4%, declining once again after two days of slight increases.

Hospitals statewide reported 5,653 COVID-19 patients Wednesday, more than 100 fewer patients than the day before. Of those hospitalized, 1,170 were in intensive care.