Illinois reports 7,037 new COVID-19 cases, 96 deaths as positivity rate falls

State health officials Thursday said another 7,037 people in Illinois have tested positive for the coronavirus, slashing the state’s testing positivity rate to its lowest point since late October.

That positivity rate — which measures the rate of spread of the virus — now has been cut nearly in half, to 7.2%, from its most recent peak in mid-November. But it’s still higher than the summertime average positivity rate of 3.7%.

The dip was partially a result of a hefty 94,909 test results submitted to the Illinois Department of Public Health — the highest daily test count since last week.

The state this week averaged about 85,000 tests performed per day.

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More than 12 million tests have been conducted statewide during the pandemic, detecting more than 920,000 total positive cases.

Health officials also said another 96 deaths from the virus were recorded in the last day, including 35 Chicago area people — the youngest, a woman in her 40s.

Daily deaths have averaged 140 per day in December, totaling 3,300 this month alone. In November, daily deaths averaged 80 per day, with the whole month totaling about 2,500 deaths. The state has recorded 15,643 deaths from the virus since March.

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On Wednesday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the state had administered nearly 101,000 doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine. Health care workers and nursing home residents were first in line to receive the vaccine.

New shipments of 174,600 doses of the Moderna vaccine were scheduled to arrive in Illinois by Thursday, further signaling the “beginning of the end” of the pandemic.

Cardinal Blase Cupich also received the vaccine Wednesday, saying it offered a “ray of hope that the world will unite in our common humanity to bring about health and healing.”

As of Wednesday night, 4,488 people in Illinois were hospitalized with COVID-19, with 944 in intensive care units and 518 using ventilators.