Illinois COVID update today: IT reports 670 cases, 4 deaths

CHICAGO (WLS) – Illinois public health officials reported 670 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and four related deaths on Monday.

There have been 1,402,763 cases of COVID in total, including 23,377 deaths in the state since the start of the pandemic.

The preliminary positivity of the seven-day statewide test from July 12 to 19 is 2.8%.

As positivity rates rise across the country, the American Academy of Pediatrics has released new guidelines recommending that every student over 2 years old wear face masks to school for in-person learning. Earlier this summer, the CDC said fully immunized teachers and students would not need to mask themselves.

“They recommend it to everyone because it will be difficult to make sure everyone has received the eligible vaccine,” said Dr Taylor Heald-Sargent of Lurie Children’s Hospital.

Several Illinois school districts have decided to make masking optional, although the vaccine is not yet available for children under 12.

Childhood vaccine trials are underway and doctors hope vaccines will be available for children ages 6 to 12 by late fall and for children under 6 by winter. .

Chicago’s COVID vaccine map shows how many residents have been vaccinated by zip code

As the most contagious COVID delta variant increases nationwide, Los Angeles County has reinstated its indoor mask mandate. Illinois and Chicago health officials have yet to plan to impose masks, at least not yet, as cases here remain relatively low.

“I’m not worried about having to make major stops and blockages because we have an effective vaccine, but I am worried about people who choose not to take advantage of it,” said CPDH commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady.

Just over 51% of all Chicago residents are fully immunized; the state of Illinois is slightly below. Nationally, only 48.6% of the population is fully vaccinated.

“If we don’t vaccinate a significant proportion of these recalcitrant people, you are going to witness a smoldering epidemic in our country for a considerable period of time,” said Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergies and Diseases. allergies. Infectious disease.

Chicago Public Schools have given parents until July 26 to get their children ages 12 and older immunized to be fully immunized before the first day of school.

In the past 24 hours, labs reported testing 21,596 samples for a total of 26,386,287 since the start of the pandemic.
As of Sunday evening, 537 Illinois patients were in hospital with COVID-19. Of these, 107 patients were in intensive care and 38 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.

Illinois COVID vaccine map shows how many residents have been vaccinated by county

A total of 12,969,499 vaccines were administered in Illinois on Sunday. The seven-day moving average of vaccines administered daily is 20,628. There were 12,033 vaccines administered in Illinois on Sunday.