By Jerry Nowicki
The State’s COVID-19 test positivity rate remained at three percent Monday when the Illinois Department of Public Health reported 883 new confirmed cases of the virus.
The 30,012 test results reported Monday followed more than 70,000 total reported the previous two days, driving Illinois to more than 2 Million tests conducted since the pandemic began. Illinois became the first state in the Midwest to reach that milestone and the fifth state in the U.S., following California, New York, Florida and Texas.
The six deaths reported Monday brought the number of COVID-19 casualties in Illinois to 7,193 out of 154,799 confirmed cases throughout the State’s 102 counties.
Monday’s results mean there has been an average of 991 new cases reported each of the past seven days, an increase of 219 from the previous seven-day period. The seven-day rolling test positivity rate has settled at three percent, remaining at that level for the past three days after 23 days below it.
Tuesday there were 26 more virus-related deaths to bring the total to 7,219. There were 707 confirmed cases to bring the total to 155,506.
According to governor JB Pritzker’s Restore Illinois plan, any of the State’s four regions can me moved back to a more restrictive phase of the plan if there is a sustained rise in positivity rate, a sustained increase in hospital admissions for COVID-19 like illness, a reduction in hospital capacity threatening surge capabilities or a significant outbreak in the region that threatens the public health.
Hospitalizations, however, remain at their pandemic lows. There were 1,362 COVID-19 positive persons hospitalized at the end of Sunday, 334 of which were in intensive care unit beds. The latter number has not fallen below 300 at any point since the State began reporting the metrics in April.
The 136 ventilators in use by COVID-19 patients also represented a near-low for the pandemic.
• In related news, the Chicago Marathon, which draws runners from around the world and an almost two Million spectators each year, has been canceled, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
The 43rd running of the race had been scheduled for Sunday, October 11, but is now the latest victim in a series of cancellations of economic drivers in the State, including the Illinois State Fairs and a number of conventions and sporting events.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government and distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
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