COVID deaths drop in Illinois as vaccine rollout continues



[ad_1]

ILLINOIS – Sixteen deaths were reported on Tuesday from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, across the state. On Monday, the state recorded 5 deaths, the lowest number since July.

The latest deaths include:

  • Champaign County: 1 man 40 years old, 1 man 60 years old, 1 man 80 years old
  • Cook County: 1 70s man, 1 80s man, 1 90s woman, 1 90s man
  • Kane County: 1 female 30 years old
  • Lake County: 1 woman from the 1960s, 1 woman from the 1970s
  • LaSalle County: 1 woman from the 1980s
  • Madison County: 1 man from the 1960s
  • McHenry County: 1 80s man
  • Monroe County: 1 man from the 90s
  • Rock Island County: 1 woman from the 90s
  • Winnebago County: 1 man from the 1960s

A total of 20,781 Illinois residents have died from the virus since the state’s first death was reported almost a year ago.

Illinois passed the grim milestone of 10,000 deaths on November 5, nearly 8 months after the start of the pandemic. The following month, the state reported a record 238 deaths in a single day, and the next 10,000 deaths took just three months. Illinois crossed that threshold in February.

Although the number of cases is declining – the state’s test positivity rate has dropped to 2.7% – new cases remain too high, officials say, and they are warning residents to continue wearing masks and move away from their neighbors until more Illinois can get vaccinated.

The state reported an additional 1,510 new cases on Tuesday.

But there is light at the end of the tunnel. On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidelines indicating that it is acceptable for fully vaccinated people to assemble without a mask with others who are fully vaccinated.

While even fully vaccinated people should continue to wear masks in public to protect those who have not yet received their vaccines, the pace of vaccination is increasing statewide and it won’t be long before things return. to a certain degree of normality. say officials.

Illinois had received 4.18 million doses of the vaccine as of Tuesday, plus 414,900 more under a federal pharmaceutical partnership. A total of 3.46 million doses were administered at a rate of about 92,000 per day over the past week.

But officials say many people could still die if the mitigations become lax. As of Monday evening, 1,177 Illinois residents were still in hospital with COVID-19, including 263 in intensive care and 132 on ventilators.

[ad_2]

Source link