CHICAGO — More than 1,000 COVID-19 cases are being reported per day in Chicago, but the city remains at medium risk from the virus, officials said.
Chicago is seeing an average of 1,001 new COVID-19 cases reported per day, a 32 percent increase from a week ago, according to city data — which does not account for people who test at home or through other means and don’t report in their results.
Reported cases have steadily risen locally and nationally in recent weeks as more contagious versions of the Omicron variant have spread.
Chicago remains at the medium risk level for COVID-19 under guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to a city health department news release. About 18.4 percent of U.S. counties — or 593 out of 3,220 — are in the medium or high risk levels.
Earlier this week, health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said Chicago’s case count has risen, but it’s still seeing relatively row numbers of people hospitalized with and dying from the virus. The city would only move into the high risk level for COVID-19 if hospitalizations go up and put a strain on the health care system.
No Illinois counties have yet been put in the high risk level, although Cook County and nearby counties have entered the medium level with Chicago. The closest counties to hit the high risk level are Kenosha and racine counties in Wisconsin, according to the Chicago Department of Public Health.
Officials have said they strongly recommend people mask indoors in public, although they have not brought back a mask mandate.
Officials have also said people should get fully vaccinated and boosted, test if they have COVID-19 symptoms and isolate and quarantine if necessary.
Vaccinations:
• In Illinois, about 8.2 million people — or 64.81 percent of the state’s 12.7 million people — are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to state data.
• Across the state, 11,586 vaccine doses are being administered per day, based on a seven-day rolling average.
• Illinois and Chicago have administered at least 22,099,637 vaccine doses of the 26,996,645 provided to them.
• City data shows more than 1.8 million Chicagoans — or 69.1 percent of all residents — are fully vaccinated, and 77.2 percent of all Chicagoans have gotten at least one shot.
Everyone 5 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:
• Since Tuesday, 21 Illinoisans were reported dead from COVID-19.
• At least 33,705 people have died from COVID-19 in Illinois, and another 4,300 deaths are probably related to the virus, according to the state.
• The state reported 20,255 cases since Tuesday. That brings the total number of confirmed cases in Illinois up to 3,209,341.
• The state is reporting an average of 314 confirmed cases per day per 100,000 people. That average was at 293 on Tuesday.
• As of Thursday night, 87 people with COVID-19 were in the ICU and 25 people with COVID-19 were using ventilators in Illinois.
• In Chicago, five deaths were reported since Tuesday. There have been at least 7,389 deaths from COVID-19 in Chicago. The city is seeing an average of less than one death per day, up from last week.
• Chicago has had 4,442 confirmed cases reported since Tuesday. It’s had a total of 596,145 confirmed cases. An average of 1,001 confirmed cases are being reported per day, up 32 percent from a week ago.
• Testing in Chicago is up 2 percent from a week ago.
• Chicago’s positivity rate was at 5.2 percent, up from 4.1 percent a week ago.
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