COVID-19 hospitalizations in Illinois showing signs of slow decline

New hospital admissions for COVID-19-like illness in Illinois continued on a slow decline, according to the most recent data from the Illinois Department of Public Health.

An admission for COVID-19-like illness is defined as if a 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, according to the state health department’s website.

From a high of 235 new admissions on Sept. 1, the IDPH reported 220 new admissions on Sept. 10, the most recent available date.

The IDPH reported 9,152 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 106 additional deaths for Friday, Saturday and Sunday combined. The IDPH does not update its dashboard during the weekend.

For Friday to Sunday, the state administered 59,104 shots.

The state received the results of 254,763 COVID-19 tests for Friday to Sunday. The state’s positivity rate is 4.4%.

Illinois has seen 1,573,538 total cases of the virus, and 24,367 people have died. The state has conducted a total of 30,011,596 tests since the start of the pandemic.

As of late Sunday, Illinois had 2,247 COVID-19 patients in the hospital, down from a high of 2,346 this past Thursday. Of those, 554 were in intensive care units, and 341 were on ventilators.

Vaccine update: As of Monday, IDPH reported a total of 16,779,545 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been distributed statewide, with 14,208,557 vaccines administered.

As of Monday, 6,865,463 Illinoisans have been fully vaccinated, or 53.88% of the population. Illinois has a population of 12,741,080 people.

Among Illinois residents 12 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 6,596,428 (60.9%)

At Least 1 Dose: 8,478,475 (78.2%)

Among Illinois residents 18 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 6,159,269 (62.5%)

At Least 1 Dose: 7,863,317 (79.8%)

Among Illinois residents 65 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 1,582,238 (77.4%)

At Least 1 Dose: 1,925,880 (94.3%)

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

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

Chicago: 55.79%

Suburban Cook: 59.45%

Lake: 56.54%

McHenry: 54.64%

DuPage: 63.45%

Kane: 54.43%

Will: 54.04%

Kendall: 55.59%

La Salle: 48.26%

Grundy: 46.69%

DeKalb: 47.21%

Ogle: 46.83%

Lee: 50.07%

Whiteside: 45.36%

Bureau: 46.04%

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 stayed flat at 4.3%. Currently, 19% of ICU beds are available.

Within this region, McHenry County’s seven-day positivity rate average increased to 4.6%. Lake County, which does about two-thirds of the testing in the region, is reporting a rolling average of 4.2%.

Hospitalizations have decreased or remained stable seven out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is up to a total of 138 COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

The West Suburban (DuPage and Kane counties) region’s positivity rate stayed flat at 4.3%. Currently, 24% of ICU beds are available.

Within this region, Kane County’s seven-day positivity rate increased to 4.5%, and DuPage County’s decreased to 4.1%.

Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable 10 out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is down to 175 total COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

The South Suburban (Will and Kankakee counties) region’s positivity rate increased to 5.9%. Currently, 25% of ICU beds are available.

Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable one out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is up to 126 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 5.6%.

Currently, 17% of ICU beds are available.

Within this region, DeKalb County’s positivity rate increased to 6.3%, Lee County’s rate decreased to 2.1%, and Whiteside County’s went up to 2.8%.

Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable one out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is down to 109 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 5.6%.

Within this region, La Salle County’s seven-day positivity rate decreased to 4.7%. Currently, 17% of ICU beds are available. Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable for five out of the past 10 days. The region is down to a total of 247 COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

Chicago’s positivity rate stayed flat at 3.6%. Currently, 18% 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 3.9%. Currently, 16% of ICU beds are available. Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable one out of the past 10 days in this region.