CHICAGO — Another 601 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Illinois over the last day, officials said Tuesday.
There have now been 137,825 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Illinois, though many of those people have recovered since falling ill.
In all, at least 6,707 people have died from COVID-19 in Illinois, including 38 people who died during the last day. Nineteen of those victims were in Cook County.
Those are all significant decreases from the state’s peak, said Dr. Ngozi Ezike, head of the Illinois Department of Public Health, during a Tuesday press conference.
Six weeks ago, Illinois saw 4,000 new confirmed cases within a 24-hour period, Ezike said, and there were 191 coronavirus-related deaths May 13.
Similarly, hospitalizations have fallen: Illinois now has 1,648 people hospitalized with COVID-19, including 434 people in intensive care units and 236 people on ventilators.
At the peak, the state had more than 5,000 people hospitalized with COVID-19, including 1,290 people in intensive care units, Ezike said.
“The good news is, is Illinois has seen declining cases and declining fatality totals week after week for the past five consecutive weeks,” Ezike said. “I commend every resident of Illinois for thinking of your neighbors across the state during this ongoing battle against COVID-19.
“Lives are in your hands, and you’ve saved so many with your actions. These actions have given Illinois a leg up against this virus.”
Because of that progress, every region of the state is on track to progress to Phase 4 this Friday, said Gov. JB Pritzker. He also announced schools will be able to reopen for in-person learning this fall.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Monday that Chicago will move into Phase 4 on Friday, as well.
Still, people need to continue to wear masks, wash their hands and keep 6 feet apart, Pritzker and Ezike said.
“As we reopen aspects of our daily lives that coronavirus took away, it’s important to emphasize that the virus has not gone away,” Pritzker said. “It is still affecting and infecting people, some of whom are hospitalized and have severe complications.”
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