Illinois COVID Update: IL reports 2,082 cases, 6 deaths
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Illinois Department of Public Health officials reported 2,082 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and six related deaths Wednesday.
It is the first time since May 7 that there has been an increase of more than 2,000 cases in a single day. There have been 1,415,572 total COVID cases, including 23,420 deaths in the state since the pandemic began.
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The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from July 20-27 is at 4.4%, the highest it has been since April 22.
Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White added his organization to the list of places reinstating mask mandates in light of the surge. All customers and employees in SOS facilities will be required to wear a mask in buildings starting Monday. That includes driver services facilities and the Illinois State Capitol Building.
The concerns over the fast-spreading Delta variant among both unvaccinated and vaccinated people prompted the CDC's most recent mask recommendations. Now, schools are reevaluating their back-to-school protocols and Illinois state leaders are considering vaccine mandates for employees.
"I am looking at all the possible mitigations that we should consider. At the moment I want to be clear with everybody, wear your mask but most importantly get vaccinated," said Gov. JB Pritzker.
Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported testing 42,363 specimens for a total of 26,720,724 since the pandemic began.
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As of Tuesday night, 857 patients in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 184 patients were in the ICU and 74 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
A total of 13,139,579 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of Sunday. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 17,982. On Tuesday, 27,155 vaccines were administered.
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Governor JB Pritzker's office said Illinois will fully align with the new CDC masking recommendations for vaccinated people to wear masks in public and indoor settings.
