Illinois announces most new COVID-19 cases in a day since May 29

The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 742 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and seven additional deaths Wednesday, and a total of 12,873,967 COVID-19 vaccines have been administered.

The 742 new cases is the most in a single day for Illinois since May 29.

For Tuesday, the state administered 22,962 shots.

The state received the results of 34,313 COVID-19 tests in the 24 hours leading up to Wednesday afternoon. The state’s positivity rate remained 1.8%.

Illinois has seen 1,398,409 total cases of the virus, and 23,343 people have died. The state has conducted a total of 26,218,311 tests since the start of the pandemic.

As of late Tuesday, Illinois had 480 COVID-19 patients in the hospital. Of those, 88 were in intensive care units, and 34 were on ventilators.

The state also announced an additional 52 confirmed cases of the delta variant. Illinois has seen a total of 288 confirmed delta cases.

New hospital admissions for COVID-like illness also continue to rise, from a low of 37 admissions on July 3 to 49 admissions on July 11, according to the most recent available state data.

Vaccine update: As of Wednesday, IDPH reported a total of 14,392,335 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been distributed statewide, with 12,873,967 vaccines administered.

As of the time this story was published, 6,320,119 Illinoisans have been fully vaccinated, or 49.60% of the population. Illinois has a population of 12,741,080 people.

Among Illinois residents 12 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 5,973,341 (55.1%)

At Least 1 Dose: 7,637,494 (70.5%)

Among Illinois residents 18 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 5,663,773 (57.5%)

At Least 1 Dose: 7,172,708 (72.8%)

Among Illinois residents 65 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 1,524,163 (74.6%)

At Least 1 Dose: 1,848,408 (90.5%)

There can be as much as a 72-hour delay in reporting from healthcare providers on vaccines administered.

The state also had its weekly update of breakthrough hospitalizations and deaths. Breakthrough is defined as an individual who tests positive for COVID-19 at least 14 days after being fully vaccinated and did not test positive in the previous 45 days.

There have been 563 total breakthrough hospitalizations and 151 deaths. The deaths represent 2.20% of all COVID-19 deaths in the state since January 1, 2021.

In northern Illinois, here is the percentage of the population fully vaccinated by county:

Chicago: 50.44%

Suburban Cook: 53.66%

Lake: 50.64%

McHenry: 48.82%

DuPage: 58.16%

Kane: 48.51%

Will: 48.61%

Kendall: 50.09%

La Salle: 43.13%

Grundy: 41.52%

DeKalb: 42.45%

Ogle: 42.47%

Lee: 46.00%

Whiteside: 42.03%

Bureau: 41.11%

Regional update: All 11 regions in the state are in Phase 5.

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

The North Suburban (McHenry and Lake counties) region’s positivity rate increased to 1.5%. Currently, 27% of ICU beds are available.

Within this region, McHenry County’s seven-day positivity rate average increased to 1.8%. Lake County, which does about two-thirds of the testing in the region, is reporting a rolling average of 1.4%.

Hospitalizations have decreased or remained stable nine out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is up to a total of 17 COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

The West Suburban (DuPage and Kane counties) region’s positivity rate stayed flat at 1.5%. Currently, 31% of ICU beds are available.

Within this region, Kane County’s seven-day positivity rate decreased to 1.8%, and DuPage County’s stayed flat at 1.4%.

Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable seven out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is up to 35 total COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

The South Suburban (Will and Kankakee counties) region’s positivity rate increased to 1.5%. Currently, 23% of ICU beds are available.

Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable nine out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is down to 16 total COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

The North (Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, Jo Daviess, Lee, Ogle, Stephenson, Whiteside and Winnebago counties) region’s positivity rate stayed flat at 2.4%.

Currently, 21% of ICU beds are available.

Within this region, DeKalb County’s positivity rate stayed flat at 2.3%, Lee County’s rate stayed flat at 1.2%, and Whiteside County’s stayed flat at 1.7%.

Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable 10 out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is down to 15 total COVID-19 hospitalizations.

The North-Central (Bureau, Fulton, Grundy, Henderson, Henry, Kendall, Knox, La Salle, Livingston, Marshall, McDonough, McLean, Mercer, Peoria, Putnam, Rock Island, Stark, Tazewell, Warren and Woodford counties) region’s positivity rate increased to 2.0%.

Within this region, La Salle County’s seven-day positivity rate decreased to 2.1%. Currently, 29% of ICU beds are available. Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable for six out of the past 10 days. The region is down to a total of 38 COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

Chicago’s positivity rate stayed flat at 1.1%. Currently, 20% of ICU beds are available. Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable for six out of the past 10 days.

Suburban Cook County’s positivity rate stayed flat at 1.2%. Currently, 19% of ICU beds are available. Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable nine out of the past 10 days in this region.

Meanwhile, the regions closest to Missouri, which is seeing an 80% increase in new COVID-19 cases of the past two weeks largely because of the delta variant, are seeing increases in positivity rate and hospitalizations.

Region 4 (Metro East, near St. Louis) is reporting a 7.8% positivity rate. Region 5 (southern Illinois) has seen hospitalizations rise each day this month, from a low of eight total patients on July 1 to 29 as of Tuesday night.