Coronavirus Positivity Rises To 9.4 Percent In Region 8
WHEATON, IL — The coronavirus positivity rate in Region 8, made up of Kane and DuPage counties, this week reached its highest level since state public health officials began publishing the data.
In the third week of October, positivity rates continued rising across all but one of the state’s 11 COVID-19 resurgence mitigation regions. As of Friday, four of the regions are subject to state-ordered mitigation measures restricting indoor dining and other activities, including DuPage, Kane, Kankakee and Will counties.
In Region 8 of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s mitigation plan, the positivity rate reached 9.4 percent Tuesday, the most recent day where the seven-day rolling average is available from the Illinois Department of Public Health. The two-county region had seen nine days of increases in the previous 10.
The average number of new daily hospitalizations in the region also continued to rise. The rounded, rolling seven-day average of admissions to hospitals with “COVID-like illnesses,” or CLI, rose to 23 people a day Tuesday, up from 18 a week earlier — and twice the region’s hospitalization rate from a month earlier.
Meanwhile, the number of counties considered to be at a warning level for COVID-19, meaning two or more county-level risk indicators show an increasing risk of the virus’ spread.
Half Illinois counties are now at the “orange” warning level: Adams, Bond, Boone, Carroll, Cass, Christian, Clay, Clinton, Crawford, DeKalb, Douglas, Edwards, Fayette, Ford, Franklin, Gallatin, Greene, Hamilton, Henderson, Jersey, Jo Daviess, Johnson, Kane, Kendall, Knox, LaSalle, Lee, Macon, Macoupin, McDonough, McHenry, Mercer, Morgan, Moultrie, Ogle, Perry, Pike, Pulaski, Rock Island, Saline, Shelby, Stephenson, Union, Vermilion, Wabash, Warren, Wayne, Whiteside, Will, Williamson and Winnebago.
RELATED: Coronavirus Mitigations In Region 8 Start Friday
Public health officials said some businesses continue to disregard social distancing and face covering requirements, noting in a statement that “mayors, local law enforcement, state’s attorneys, and other community leaders can be influential in ensuring citizens and businesses follow best practices.”
On Friday, the state public health agency reported and 3,874 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus, including 31 deaths.
As of Thursday night, there were 2,498 people in Illinois reported to be hospitalized with COVID-19, up by 482 from a week earlier and 38 percent more people than were hospitalized with the virus two weeks ago.
Of those currently in the state’s hospitals, there were 511 patients in intensive care units, 111 more people in the ICU than a week earlier. There were 197 COVID-19 patients on ventilators, 46 more than a week earlier.
Less than 83,000 tests were reported in the previous 24 hours. The statewide preliminary seven-day average positivity rate, as a percentage of total tests, is 5.6 percent for the week ending Thursday, up by 0.5 percentage points from a week earlier.
Illinois Coronavirus Update Oct. 23: More Than Half Of Illinois Counties Now At ‘Warning Level’ — Don’t miss updates about precautions in the Chicago area as they are announced — Sign up for Patch news alerts and