Coronavirus: Essential News
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COVID hospitalizations have also seen a sharp drop, with the 3,135 beds occupied as of Thursday night marking a 31% decline from last week and a 57% decline from the all-time records set in mid-January.
The turnaround has been especially pronounced in Chicago, where cases, hospitalizations and deaths are all down by more than 40% since last week.
Illinois logged another 6,664 COVID-19 cases on Monday – the lowest daily caseload in seven weeks. Hospitalizations and the number of deaths from the virus also dropped yet again. But that encouraging news was tempered a bit by a report of the first case of the Omicron subvariant in Illinois.
The surge is still being felt sharply in intensive care units across Illinois, which are still 88% full. And with four days left in the month, the state has suffered almost as many COVID deaths in January (2,651) as it did over the previous three months combined (2,941).
While deaths “still are quite high” in Chicago at a rate of about 19 per day, other numbers suggest relief could be on the way, Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said.
Although patients hospitalized with COVID-19 remained high at 5,238 occupied beds — a daily total reached last year on only a handful of days — it still meant 2,100 fewer patients hospitalized with the virus than when Illinois hit its record high on Jan. 12.
Pharmacies in Chicago and the suburbs that will have them include Walgreens, CVS, Walmart and Costco, A Walgreens spokesperson said Friday they’ll be available ‘at select Walgreens locations nationwide while supplies last.’
The state has averaged 107 deaths per day over the past week, a stretch that saw Cook County lose a total of 425 residents to the virus — the worst week since mid-November 2020.
While cases and hospitalizations are falling, Illinois is still losing 109 lives on average each day. About 14 of every 109 live in the city, the vast majority unvaccinated. “Let me be very clear: There are still more than 200 Chicagoans being newly admitted [to hospitals] every day with COVID-19,” said Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady.
A “small percentage of orders” was impacted, a Postal Service spokesman said.
“We are not out of the woods, and we need people to be very careful over these next few weeks,” Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said. Gov. J.B. Pritzker observed, “I am cautiously optimistic about this decline, but there are an awful lot of people still battling for their lives in hospitals across Illinois.”
Iliana Mora, chief administration officer for Cook County Health’s Ambulatory Services, said the Forest Park facility alone is equipped to give out 1,300 doses a day.
Even though Omicron generally seems to cause milder infections and doctors have gotten better at treating COVID, the sheer volume of cases means there is more agony on the way, experts say. “We’ve been on this ride before. We know how this works,” University of Chicago’s Dr. Emily Landon said.
With coronavirus hospitalizations at an all-time high across Illinois, experts say it’s critical for residents to continue following basic precautions — and to stop dismissing the most infectious variant yet as “mild.”
Along with vaccines and testing, masks remain one of the CDC’s three main tools to fight the coronavirus.
More Illinoisans are testing positive for COVID-19 each day than ever before — an average of 32,501 per day over the last week — and “unfortunately, right now, today, the hospitals are bearing the brunt,” Illinois Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said. The spike is also resulting in more deaths, with 144 on Wednesday alone, the worst daily toll in over a year.
“I will continue to work from home while following the CDC guidelines for isolation,” the mayor said in a statement. “This is an urgent reminder for folks to get vaccinated and boosted as it’s the only way to beat this pandemic.”
Nearly 4,800 Chicagoans are still testing positive each day on average — about double any previous case surge the city has seen — but that rate is down about 8% from last week, according to city data.
“We haven’t peaked yet. We’re filling up more and more beds,” said Dr. Sajal Tanna of Northwestern Memorial Hospital. “Everybody is stretched incredibly thin. I honestly don’t know if there is much more room to stretch.”
The rise in hospitalized children comes as Illinois set another record for total new COVID-19 cases Thursday, with more than 44,000 reported statewide. The state also saw 104 more viral deaths, the most in a day in nearly a year.
More than 250 Cook County residents died of COVID-19 last week, the worst weekly toll seen in the Chicago area since vaccines were introduced. Over the past seven days, the entire state has averaged more than 25,000 COVID-19 infections. That’s roughly like the population of suburban Melrose Park testing positive each day.
The exposure in Chicago happened as state lawmakers convene in Springfield for a legislative session that has already been shortened due to the statewide surge in coronavirus cases.
Southern Illinois hospitals — which were overrun late last summer during the initial Delta variant wave — are also approaching capacity once again.
“With the holidays only a week or two in the rearview mirror, I fear the climb will continue as the virus incubates in those who were exposed at the end of December,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said.
With cases, hospitalizations and deaths rising rapidly, officials are urging more residents to get vaccinated and boosted.
With infections soaring to record-breaking heights, Chicagoans “have to do everything that they can to make sure that they protect themselves,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.
John Catanzara, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7, released a video on Monday saying the department is “playing games” with the current designation of Jose “Joey” Huerta’s death.
An infectious disease expert says holiday gatherings may prolong the recent surge in cases as the state reports hospitalizations continue to rise.
Mary Kay Tuzi, owner of Twin Anchors at 1655 N. Sedgwick St., said restaurants have been unfairly targeted throughout the pandemic and have borne the brunt of COVID-19 mandates.
Officials said the guidance is in keeping with growing evidence that people with COVID-19 are most infectious in the two days before and three days after symptoms develop.