2,264 new COVID-19 cases in Illinois, highest caseload in months
This picture taken on May 23, 2020 shows a laboratory technician holding a dose of a COVID-19 novel coronavirus vaccine candidate
CHICAGO - Illinois on Friday saw it’s largest daily number of COVID-19 cases in nearly three months.
Health officials reported that 2,264 people in Illinois have recently tested positive for the disease.
The last time the state saw a larger caseload was May 24, when the state logged 2,508 cases in a single day. The most confirmed cases reported in Illinois in a single day was 4,014 on May 12.
The Illinois Department of Public Health also reported 25 new deaths from the coronavirus. That brings the state’s death toll to 7,721.
The state’s rolling positivity rate is now 4.1%, where it has remained within a tenth of a percentage point for a week.
As of Thursday night, 1,612 people in Illinois were hospitalized with COVID-19, the health department said. Of those, 345 patients were in the ICU and 126 were on ventilators.
In a press release, the health department blamed the uptick in the number of virus cases on local elected officials of communities “where there is little public concern for consequences or enforcement” of social distancing and isolation orders. Officials say 14 of the state’s 102 counties were deemed at “warning level” for the resurgence.
“Warning level” means that state officials can intervene and potentially shut down businesses. The counties that have been labeled under that category are Will and Kane outside Chicago; Bureau, Grundy and LaSalle in northern Illinois; Cass, Hancock, Moultrie and Greene in the state’s center; Clinton, Franklin, Jefferson, Perry and Union in southern Illinois.
State officials say outbreaks were traced to weddings, businesses, birthday parties, long-term care facilities and other congregate settings, bars, sports camps, and spread among members of the same household.
Associated Press contributed to this report.