March 29, 2024
Coronavirus

Number of COVID-19 patients in Illinois hospital ICUs falls back under 1,000

IDPH: 29% of state’s population has received a booster vaccine

FILE - A nurse suits up with protective gear before entering a patient's room at the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, in Lebanon, N.H., Jan. 3, 2022. The omicron variant has caused a surge of new cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. and many hospitals are not only swamped with cases but severely shorthanded because of so many employees out with COVID-19. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

Illinois has fewer than 1,000 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit beds for the first time since December 28, according to new data from the Illinois Department of Public Health.

There are currently 972 COVID-19 patients in the ICU, and the percentage of total ICU beds occupied by covid-positive patients has dropped from a high 39% to 33%.

Despite the improving statewide numbers, there are still four health care regions in the state with single-digit ICU availability:

Region 1 (DeKalb County, Rockford, Sauk Valley): 9 available ICU beds out of 141 staffed, available beds.

Region 3 (Springfield area): 6 available ICU beds out of 160 staffed, available beds.

Region 4 (Metro East, near St. Louis): 6 available ICU beds out of 95 staffed, available beds.

Region 5 (southern Illinois): 4 available ICU beds out of 68 staffed, available beds.

IDPH reported 40,642 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 137 additional deaths Friday.

For Thursday, the state administered 47,279 shots.

The state received the results of 290,664 COVID-19 tests in the 24 hours leading up to Friday afternoon. The state’s positivity rate is 11.9%

Illinois has seen 2,773,362 total cases of the virus, and 29,845 people have died. The state has conducted a total of 49,488,107 tests since the start of the pandemic.

As of late Thursday, Illinois had 6,054 COVID-19 patients in the hospital, the fewest since December 31, 2021. Of those, 972 were in intensive care units, and 560 were on ventilators.

Vaccine update: As of Friday, IDPH reported a total of 22,808,465 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been distributed statewide, with 20,207,132 vaccines administered.

As of the time this story was published, 7,861,229 of the population of Illinois have been fully vaccinated, or 61.7%. Illinois has a population of 12,741,080 people.

Also, 3,705,965 people have received a booster dose, or 29.0% of the state’s population. Among 5-11 year olds, 34.21% have received at least one vaccine dose and 24.89% are fully vaccinated.

CDC numbers:

Among Illinois residents 5 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 8,310,740 (69.7%)

At Least 1 Dose: 9,472,793 (79.4%)

Among Illinois residents 12 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 8,020,213 (74%)

At Least 1 Dose: 9,062,412 (83.6%)

Among Illinois residents 18 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 7,427,638 (75.4%)

At Least 1 Dose: 8,388,905 (85.1%)

Among Illinois residents 65 and older:

Fully Vaccinated: 1,779,140 (87.1%)

At Least 1 Dose: 1,960,038 (95%)

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: 64.21%

Suburban Cook: 68.40%

Lake: 65.89%

McHenry: 62.53%

DuPage: 72.18%

Kane: 62.41%

Will: 62.98%

Kendall: 64.93%

La Salle: 55.55%

Grundy: 54.67%

DeKalb: 53.70%

Ogle: 54.23%

Lee: 56.60%

Whiteside: 49.88%

Bureau: 53.95%

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 15.1%. Currently, 13% of ICU beds are available.

Within this region, McHenry County’s seven-day positivity rate average decreased to 19.1%. Lake County, which does about two-thirds of the testing in the region, is reporting a rolling average of 13.8%.

Hospitalizations have decreased or remained stable six out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is down to a total of 366 COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

The West Suburban (DuPage and Kane counties) region’s positivity rate decreased to 16.1%. Currently, 14% of ICU beds are available.

Within this region, Kane County’s seven-day positivity rate decreased to 17.9%, and DuPage County’s decreased to 15.2%.

Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable four out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is down to 778 total COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

The South Suburban (Will and Kankakee counties) region’s positivity rate decreased to 17.0%. Currently, 11% 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 330 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 20.3%.

Currently, 6% of ICU beds are available.

Within this region, DeKalb County’s positivity rate fell to 16.5%, Lee County’s rate decreased to 15.9%, and Whiteside County’s went down to 18.5%.

Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable nine out of the past 10 days in this region. The region is down to 303 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 17.1%.

Within this region, La Salle County’s seven-day positivity rate decreased to 18.2%. Currently, 11% 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 534 COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

Chicago’s positivity rate fell to 11.3%. Currently, 10% of ICU beds are available. Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable for eight out of the past 10 days.

Suburban Cook County’s positivity rate fell to 12.6%. Currently, 10% of ICU beds are available. Hospitalizations decreased or remained stable seven out of the past 10 days in this region.

John Sahly

John Sahly

John Sahly is the digital editor for the Shaw Local News Network. He has been with Shaw Media since 2008, previously serving as the Northwest Herald's digital editor, and the Daily Chronicle sports editor and sports reporter.