CHICAGO — Northern states are beginning to see another rise in COVID-19 cases as cold weather sets in, according to a New York Times report.
But Chicago and Illinois remain stable — though both have higher metrics than they did before the Delta variant hit this summer.
Nearby Michigan and Minnesota are among the states that have seen a quick rise in daily new cases in recent weeks, according to the Times. They’re joined by Vermont, Colorado and New Hampshire.
That mimics what was seen last year, when northern states — including Illinois — experienced a surge in coronavirus during the fall. That surge weakened but lasted into the winter. Officials have said the surge was at least partly fueled by people spending more time indoors, where it’s easier for the virus to be transmitted.
Illinois and Chicago are not reporting a rise in cases, but officials have expressed concerns about the winter.
Dr. Allison Arwady, head of the Chicago Department of Public Health, has said she’s worried less-vaccinated parts of the city could see surges.
“I think I would be foolish to not be at all worried about fall/winter,” Dr. Allison Arwady, head of the Chicago Department of Public Health, said during a livestream in late September.
A new variant that is resistant to the vaccines — or people not getting their flu and COVID-19 shots, leading to a double epidemic — could cause “significant trouble” in Chicago, Arwady said.
Vaccinations:
• In Illinois, about 7.1 million people — or 56.28 percent of the state’s 12.7 million people — have gotten all their COVID-19 vaccine shots, according to state data.
• Across the state, 28,875 vaccine doses are being administered per day, based on a seven-day rolling average.
• Illinois and Chicago have administered at least 15,075,110 vaccine doses of the 18,083,675 provided to them.
• City data shows more than 1.57 million Chicagoans — or 58.8 percent of all residents — are fully vaccinated, and 64 percent of all Chicagoans have gotten at least one shot.
Everyone 12 and older is eligible to get vaccinated in Chicago.
COVID-19 vaccinations are free and do not require insurance. Anyone can call the city’s coronavirus hotline at 312-746-4835 to get more information on how and where to get vaccinated in their community.
The numbers:
• Sixty-three Illinoisans were reported dead from COVID-19 since Friday.
• At least 25,470 people have died from COVID-19 in Illinois, and another 2,798 deaths are probably related to the virus, according to the state.
• The state reported 5,498 cases since Friday. That brings the total number of confirmed cases in Illinois up to 1,671,275.
• Since Friday, 297,930 tests were reported statewide. In all, 34,016,737 tests have been reported in Illinois.
• Illinois’ seven-day case positivity rate was at 2 percent. The figure represents the percentage of people testing positive among recent tests. It was at 2 percent Friday.
• Illinois’ seven-day test positivity rate, which measures the percentage of tests that were positive, was at 2.4 percent. It was at 2.5 percent Friday.
• As of Sunday night, 338 people with COVID-19 were in the ICU and 168 people with COVID-19 were using ventilators in Illinois.
• In Chicago, six deaths were reported since Friday. There have been at least 5,847 deaths from COVID-19 in Chicago. The city is seeing an average of more than three deaths per day, down 14 percent from a week ago.
• Chicago has 945 had confirmed cases reported since Friday. It’s had a total of 323,353 confirmed cases. An average of 320 confirmed cases are being reported per day, an 11 percent decrease from the week prior.
• Testing in Chicago is down 3 percent since a week ago.
• Chicago’s positivity rate was at 2 percent, down from 2.2 percent the week prior.
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