Illinois reports 8,828 new cases of COVID-19, 181 additional deaths

With several Illinois regions now shown by state health department data as eligible to move out of the strict Tier 3 public health mitigations imposed statewide Nov. 20, it is still unclear whether Gov. JB Pritzker will approve relaxing rules like bans on indoor dining at restaurants ahead of or just after the Christmas holiday.

The governor did not address the matter Tuesday, when the North Suburban region, consisting of Lake and McHenry counties, met the COVID-19 caseload criteria with the area’s test positivity rate, hospital capacity and decreasing hospitalizations, due to the coronavirus.

A spokeswoman for Pritzker has also not responded to inquires this week on whether the governor could give the green light to loosen the rules from the Tier 3 restrictions anytime soon.

The state’s Region 1, consisting of nine counties in northwestern Illinois, as well as the Region 6, consisting of more than a dozen counties in eastern Illinois, also appears to have met the criteria to potentially move to less stringent public health measures, such as the Tier 2 set of mitigations, which would allow video gaming to take place at 25% of a gambling facility’s normal capacity, among other additional allowances.

The IDPH reported 8,828 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 181 additional deaths Thursday.

The seven-day rolling average of Illinois’ positivity rate decreased to 8.4%. The state received the results of 92,015 COVID-19 tests in the 24 hours leading up to Wednesday afternoon.

Illinois has seen 879,428 cases of the virus, and 14,835 people have died. The state has conducted 12,147,309 tests since the start of the pandemic.

As of late Wednesday, Illinois had 4,751 COVID-19 patients in the hospital. Of those hospitalizations, 1,056 were in intensive care units, and 575 were on ventilators.

To see definitions of key terms used in our COVID-19 updates, read this article titled, “Feeling lost in keeping up with the news?”

Regional update: Currently, all 11 of the state’s health regions are under additional mitigation measures from the IDPH, and as of Nov. 20, all 11 regions are under Tier 3 mitigations.

Regional data from the IDPH remains on a three-day lag.

Confused about the different tiers and phases of the governor’s COVID-19 response? Read this explanation of the Restore Illinois plan and its metrics.

The North Suburban region (McHenry and Lake counties) has seen five consecutive days under 12%. The region’s positivity rate decreased to 11.1%. Currently, 19.6% of medical/surgical beds are available and 24% of ICU beds.

The region was shown to have 11 consecutive days over the 20% threshold for ICU bed availability, and 11 consecutive days over the 20% threshold for medical/surgical bed availability, despite the slight dip below the threshold for medical/surgical beds shown by Thursday’s reporting.

The Lake/McHenry region has a rolling, seven-day average of 288 COVID-19 patients in the hospital, and that number has decreased for seven out of the past 10 days.

Within this region, McHenry County’s seven-day positivity rate average decreased to 12.3%. Lake County, which does about two-thirds of the testing in the region, is reporting a rolling average of 10.6%.

Finally, within the Lake/McHenry region, there are 45 available, staffed ICU beds out of 192 total.

Region 9 was shown to have been meeting all of the state’s requirements for a move back to Tier 2, which is less restrictive, again despite the slight dip below the 20% bar in medical/surgical bed availability.

The West Suburban region (DuPage and Kane counties) has seen four consecutive days under 12%. The region’s positivity rate increased slightly to 11.1%. Currently, 17.6% of medical/surgical beds are available and 23.9% of ICU beds.

The region has four consecutive days over the 20% threshold for ICU bed availability, and two days under the 20% threshold for medical/surgical bed availability.

The Kane/DuPage region has a rolling, seven-day average of 533 COVID-19 patients in the hospital. Hospitalizations have decreased nine out of the past 10 days in this region.

Within this region, Kane County’s seven-day positivity average is at 12.1%, and DuPage County is at 10.6%.

Finally, within the DuPage/Kane region, there are 69 available, staffed ICU beds out of 324 total.

The South Suburban region (Will and Kankakee counties) has seen zero consecutive days under 12%. The region’s positivity rate decreased slightly to 12.1%. Currently, 15.9% of medical/surgical beds are available and 18.1% of ICU beds.

The region has five consecutive days under the 20% threshold for ICU bed availability, and nine consecutive days under the 20% threshold for medical/surgical bed availability.

The Will/Kankakee region has a rolling, seven-day average of 255 COVID-19 patients in the hospital. Hospitalizations have decreased 10 out of the past 10 days in this region.

Finally, within the Will/Kankakee region, there are 32 available, staffed ICU beds out of 162 total.

The North region (Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, Jo Daviess, Lee, Ogle, Stephenson, Whiteside and Winnebago counties) has seen four consecutive days under the 12% positivity rate. The region’s positivity rate decreased to 10.4%. Currently, 25.2% of medical/surgical beds are available and 23.8% of ICU beds.

The region has four consecutive days above the 20% threshold for ICU bed availability, and 11 consecutive days above the 20% threshold for medical/surgical bed availability.

Region 1 has a rolling, seven-day average of 208 COVID-19 patients in the hospital. Hospitalizations have decreased 10 out of the past 10 days in this region.

Within this region, DeKalb County’s positivity rate decreased to 10.7%, Lee County’s rate stayed flat at 7.3%, and Whiteside County’s rate stayed flat at 8.1%.

Finally, within this region, there are 38 available, staffed ICU beds out of 179 total.

Region 1 is now meeting all of the state’s requirements for a move back to Tier 2, which is less restrictive.

The North-Central region (Bureau, Fulton, Grundy, Henderson, Henry, Kendall, Knox, La Salle, Livingston, Marshall, McDonough, McLean, Mercer, Peoria, Putnam, Rock Island, Stark, Tazewell, Warren and Woodford counties) has seen five consecutive days under 12%. The region’s positivity rate decreased to 9.7%. Currently, 24.6% of medical/surgical beds are available and 19.7% of ICU beds.

The region has two days above the 20% threshold for ICU bed availability, and 11 consecutive days above the 20% threshold for medical/surgical bed availability.

Region 2 has a rolling, seven-day average of 440 COVID-19 patients in the hospital. Hospitalizations have decreased five out of the past 10 days in this region.

Within this region, La Salle County’s seven-day positivity rate dropped to 7.2%.

Finally, within this region, there are 45 available, staffed ICU beds out of 235.

Chicago has seen zero consecutive days under 12%. The region’s positivity rate increased to 12.1%. Currently, 16.9% of medical/surgical beds are available and 21% of ICU beds.

The region has four consecutive days above the 20% threshold for ICU bed availability, and nine consecutive days under the 20% threshold for medical/surgical bed availability.

Chicago has a rolling, seven-day average of 1,113 COVID-19 patients in the hospital. Hospitalizations have decreased nine out of the past 10 days in this region.

Suburban Cook County has seen zero consecutive days under 12%. The region’s positivity rate stayed flat at 12.2%. Currently, 18.1% of medical/surgical beds are available and 17.2% of ICU beds.

The region has 11 consecutive days under the 20% threshold for ICU bed availability, and two days under the 20% threshold for medical/surgical bed availability.

Suburban Cook County has a rolling, seven-day average of 1,334 COVID-19 patients in the hospital. Hospitalizations have decreased 10 out of the past 10 days in this region.

To see how other regions across the state are doing, see the full IDPH dashboard here.

Newly reported deaths include:

• Boone County: 1 male 90s
• Bureau County: 1 female 90s
• Carroll County: 1 female 60s
• Champaign County: 1 female 70s
• Christian County: 1 female 80s
• Clinton County: 2 females 90s, 1 male 90s
• Coles County: 1 female 80s
• Cook County: 1 male 20s, 3 males 40s, 6 males 50s, 3 females 60s, 5 males 60s, 10 females 70s, 18 males 70s, 5 females 80s, 6 males 80s, 5 females 90s, 4 males 90s, 1 female 100+
• Crawford County: 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s
• Dewitt County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 90s
• DuPage County: 1 female 50s, 1 female 70s, 2 females 80s, 1 female 90s, 1 male 90s, 1 female 100+
• Edwards County: 1 female 80s
• Effingham County: 1 female 60s, 1 female 70s
• Fayette County: 1 female 70s, 1 female 90s
• Ford County: 1 female 80s
• Franklin County: 1 male 80s
• Grundy County: 1 female 100+
• Hardin County: 1 male 80s
• Henry County: 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s, 1 female 100+
• Iroquois County: 1 male 80s
• Jackson County: 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s, 1 female 90s
• Kane County: 1 female 70s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s
• Kankakee County: 1 female 70s, 1 male 80s
• Knox County: 1 male 50s, 1 female 70s, 1 male 80s, 1 female 90s
• Lake County: 1 male 50s, 1 female 70s, 1 male 80s, 1 female 90s, 1 male 90s
• La Salle County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 90s
• Livingston County: 1 female 60s
• Macoupin County: 1 female 70s, 1 male 70s, 1 male 90s
• Madison County: 1 female 70s, 1 male 90s, 1 male 90s
• Marshall County: 1 male 70s
• Mason County: 1 male 70s, 1 male 80s
• Massac County: 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s
• McHenry County: 1 female 50s, 1 male 60s
• McLean County: 1 male 60s, 1 female 70s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s, 3 males 80s, 1 male 90s
• Mercer County: 1 female 80s
• Peoria County: 1 female 90s
• Perry County: 1 female 90s
• Randolph County: 1 male 50s
• Richland County: 1 female 60s
• Rock Island County: 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s, 1 male 90s
• Sangamon County: 1 female 60s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s, 1 female 90s
• Shelby County: 1 female 90s
• St. Clair County: 1 male 60s, 1 male 70s
• Stark County: 1 male 80s, 1 female 90s
• Tazewell County: 1 female 80s, 3 males 80s
• Vermilion County: 1 male 60s
• White County: 2 males 80s
• Whiteside County: 1 male 90s
• Will County: 1 male 50s, 1 male 60s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s, 2 males 80s, 1 female 90s
• Williamson County: 2 males 70s
• Winnebago County: 1 female 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s, 1 female 90s