Delta variant COVID-19 cases in Illinois continue to rise

The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 676 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and eight additional deaths Friday, and a total of 12,917,362 COVID-19 vaccines have been administered.

For Thursday, the state administered 21,607 shots.

The state received the results of 33,502 COVID-19 tests in the 24 hours leading up to Friday afternoon. The state’s positivity rate remains 1.9%.

Illinois has seen 1,399,946 total cases of the virus, and 23,357 people have died. The state has conducted a total of 26,292,979 tests since the start of the pandemic.

As of late Thursday, Illinois had 476 COVID-19 patients in the hospital. Of those, 94 were in intensive care units, and 28 were on ventilators.

Illinois also now has 365 total confirmed cases of the delta variant, an increase of 129 new confirmed delta cases since Monday.

New admissions for COVID-19-like illness continue to rise, from a low of 37 new admissions on July 3 to 54 admissions on July 13. New hospital admissions for COVID-19-like illness are reported to the Illinois Syndromic Surveillance System. Visits are defined as CLI if the patient presents with a fever and either cough, difficulty breathing or is given a diagnosis of COVID-19. Data is provisional, and a three-day lag after admission is used to allow time for the IDPH to receive more complete data before analysis is performed.

Vaccine update: As of Friday, the IDPH reported a total of 14,429,485 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been distributed statewide, with 12,917,362 vaccines administered.

As of the time this story was published, 6,341,844 Illinoisans have been fully vaccinated, or 49.77% of the population. Illinois has a population of 12,741,080 people.

Among Illinois residents 12 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 5,996,153 (55.3%)

At Least 1 Dose: 7,664,976 (70.7%)

Among Illinois residents 18 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 5,682,071 (57.7%)

At Least 1 Dose: 7,194,014 (73%)

Among Illinois residents 65 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 1,526,457 (74.7%)

At Least 1 Dose: 1,850,763 (90.6%)

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

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

Chicago: 50.63%

Suburban Cook: 53.83%

Lake: 50.80%

McHenry: 49.00%

DuPage: 58.32%

Kane: 48.69%

Will: 48.78%

Kendall: 50.27%

La Salle: 43.33%

Grundy: 41.66%

DeKalb: 42.58%

Ogle: 42.59%

Lee: 46.08%

Whiteside: 42.14%

Bureau: 42.15%

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 1.6%. Currently, 26% of ICU beds are available.

Within this region, McHenry County’s seven-day positivity rate average increased to 2.1%. 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 seven out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is up to a total of 20 COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

The West Suburban (DuPage and Kane counties) region’s positivity rate stayed flat at 1.7%. Currently, 28% of ICU beds are available.

Within this region, Kane County’s seven-day positivity rate increased to 1.9%, and DuPage County’s stayed flat at 1.6%.

Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable two out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is up to 36 total COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

The South Suburban (Will and Kankakee counties) region’s positivity rate stayed flat at 1.6%. Currently, 24% of ICU beds are available.

Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable eight 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 decreased to 2.1%.

Currently, 20% of ICU beds are available.

Within this region, DeKalb County’s positivity rate fell to 1.4%, Lee County’s rate decreased to 1.1%, and Whiteside County’s went down to 0.9%.

Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable nine out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is up to 16 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 stayed flat at 2.0%.

Within this region, La Salle County’s seven-day positivity rate decreased to 2.0%. Currently, 30% of ICU beds are available. Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable for two out of the past 10 days. The region is up to a total of 42 COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

Chicago’s positivity rate stayed flat at 1.2%. Currently, 20% of ICU beds are available. Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable for three out of the past 10 days.

Suburban Cook County’s positivity rate stayed flat at 1.3%. Currently, 19% of ICU beds are available. Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable nine out of the past 10 days in this region.