Illinois COVID Update Today: IT Reports 676 Cases, 8 Deaths

CHICAGO (WLS) – Illinois public health officials reported 676 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and eight related deaths on Friday.

There have been 1,399,946 cases of COVID in total, including 23,357 deaths in the state since the start of the pandemic.

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

The preliminary positivity of the seven-day statewide test from July 9 to 15 is 2.3%.

In the past 24 hours, labs reported testing 33,502 samples for a total of 26,292,979 since the start of the pandemic.

As of Thursday evening, 476 Illinois patients are reportedly in hospital with COVID-19. Of these, 94 patients were in intensive care and 28 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.

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A total of 12,917,362 vaccines were administered in Illinois as of Thursday. The seven-day moving average of vaccines administered daily is 21,607. There were 21,607 vaccines administered in Illinois as of Thursday.

13 IL counties at ‘warning level’ for COVID

The rising measures statewide are largely due to the worsening situation in the north of the state, officials said.

Thirteen counties, mostly in western and southern Illinois, are now on a “warning level” for COVID. This means that the people who live there face an increased risk.

All of these counties have lower vaccination rates, and two of them have less than 30% of their population fully vaccinated.

The CDC chief said on Friday that those who didn’t get the blow are fueling the increases we’re seeing nationwide.

Concerns about an increase in the delta variant are forcing some changes in Cook County, including a change in vaccination strategy.

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Cook County will close its three remaining mass vaccination sites next week as demand has reduced to a few appointments per day.

Cook County’s shift in vaccine strategy to a hyper-local one will focus specifically on the southern suburbs, where a few have the lowest vaccination rates in the entire Chicago metropolitan area.

The more contagious delta variant has resulted in higher rates and hospitalizations statewide. Cook County officials say one of the biggest obstacles to getting more people vaccinated is false rumors circulating on social media.

To get even more people vaccinated, Cook County Council President Toni Preckwinkle said she was strongly considering making the vaccine mandatory for all health workers in Cook County.

DuPage County Flagged Red by HDI for Increase in COVID-19 Hospitalizations

DuPage County is now under red flag warning as the region’s hospitalization rate continues to rise.

That rate has climbed seven of the past 10 days, officials said, triggering the state’s warning.

“The virus will always win if we don’t protect ourselves adequately,” said Karen Ayala, executive director of the DuPage County Department of Health.

In simpler terms, Ayala said that means getting vaccinated.

Despite being the county in Illinois with the highest vaccination rate, COVID is making more people sicker.

More than 99% of COVID-related deaths and hospitalizations currently involve the unvaccinated population, prompting the red flag as an early warning sign, officials said.

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

“We really want to get to the other side of this pandemic and not go back,” Ayala said.

That means trying to vaccinate the more than 100,000 eligible residents of DuPage County, who officials say have still not been vaccinated.

Like Cook County, DuPage County will soon close its largely empty mass vaccination site.

After Saturday, they will move more resources to localized options, like a van that can meet people where they live and work.

“We have to make it a lot more convenient, a lot more accessible,” Ayala said.

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Ayala suspects that the rapid spread of the Delta variant and unvaccinated people not masquerading are partly to blame for the recent spikes.

Yet in downtown Wheaton, there are differing views on what to do.

“I don’t believe in immunization and I just don’t believe it, I’d rather just go with the flow and take a chance on what I believe in,” said Pamela Cardelli, a Naperville resident.

“I am sorry for the people who are unwilling to get the vaccine because they are putting themselves in danger,” said Bob Gross, a resident of Aurora.