Illinois’ pandemic death toll rises to 13,255 as state announces 76 additional fatalities

The coronavirus has killed an additional 76 people in Illinois and infected another 7,598, state health officials announced Sunday.

That brings the statewide pandemic death toll to 13,255.

Though Sunday was the first time Illinois hadn’t recorded a three-digit daily death toll in five days, the state is still in the midst of its deadliest stretch of the pandemic, and it’s not unusual to see lower numbers on the weekends due to backlogged reporting.

Saturday marked the second deadliest day of the pandemic with state health officials reporting an additional 208 fatalities. That news came just three days after Illinois reported a record-setting 238 deaths, which shattered the previous record of 191 fatalities set on May 13.

Illinois has averaged more than 131 deaths per day over the last two weeks. That’s up from the first three weeks of November when the state averaged a daily death toll of about 80.

Of Sunday’s 76 fatalities, 23 were reported in the Chicago area.

The new cases, which brings the state’s pandemic total to 787,573, were found among the latest batch of 79,538 tests. The state’s seven-day positivity rate fell 2 percentage points from Saturday to 10.1%, continuing a steady improvement from 12.8%, the highest that figure had been since May.

Hospitalizations in Illinois have also been on the decline after the most recent surge in cases led to hospitals treating the most COVID-19 patients they’ve seen during the pandemic. As of Saturday night, 5,160 coronavirus patients were hospitalized in Illinois, with 1,103 of those patients in intensive care units and 643 on ventilators, officials said.

State health officials are bracing for another possible surge in cases due to people gathering with friends and family for Thanksgiving.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot once again encouraged Chicagoans on Sunday to be unselfish and help stop the spread of the virus by following CDC’s recommendations.

“I don’t know who needs to hear this, but your choice to socially distance and mask up just might be the reason someone else will get to live. Temporarily sacrificing some of the things you love is worth it,” Lightfoot tweeted.