30 more COVID-19 deaths reported in Illinois

CHICAGO - Illinois health officials on Wednesday announced an additional 30 deaths and 828 new confirmed cases of COVID-19.

There are now a total of 6,951 deaths and more than 144,000 cases statewide, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Sixteen of the newly reported deaths were in Cook County. They range in age from two people in their 40s to three people in their 90s, health officials said.

In the last 24 hours, labs have tested more than 33,000 specimens of the coronavirus. The state’s positivity rate over the past week is 2.6-percent.