- Credibility:
CHICAGO — Another 38 people were reported to have died from coronavirus during the past day in Illinois.
Officials warned this week that Chicago and the rest of Illinois are starting to see a second surge of COVID-19. New cases and positivity rates are up in the city and statewide, a warning sign the virus is spreading more.
Among the most recent victims were eight people in Cook County, including a woman in her 40s and three men in their 50s. At least 9,165 Illinoisans have been killed by COVID-19.
The state reported 4,554 new cases during the past day, bringing the total number of confirmed cases up to 336,174.
Illinois’ positivity rate rose to 5.1 percent, with 87,759 tests reported.
Gov. JB Pritzker said hospitalizations are also going up statewide. As of Thursday night, 2,016 people were hospitalized with coronavirus in Illinois, including 410 people in the ICU and 151 people using ventilators.
In Chicago, an average of 475 new cases are being reported per day, a 43 percent increase one week ago. The city’s positivity rate is up, as well, hitting 4.8 percent.
At least 3,003 Chicagoans have died from coronavirus, and an average of two people are dying per day.
There have been 86,773 confirmed cases in Chicago.
Officials are urging people to keep wearing masks, washing their hands and practicing social distancing to prevent the outbreak from growing out of control.
“I am worried that this could be the beginning of this second surge that everybody has been talking about,” Dr. Allison Arwady, head of the Chicago Department of Public Health, said Thursday. “This could be what folks have been concerned about. And now is the time to double down on the things that have helped keep this in control, broadly, to date.”
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