Illinois health officials announce 24,646 new COVID-19 cases, 46 deaths over the past week

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Illinois health officials reported 24,646 new COVID-19 cases, including 46 deaths, over the past week.

IDPH is reporting a total of 3,138,682 cases, including 33,614 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois since the beginning of the pandemic.  

As of Thursday night, 732 individuals in Illinois were in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 75 were in the ICU and 32 patients with COVID were on ventilators.

The preliminary seven-day statewide case rate is 193 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 Illinoisans, health officials said.

The case rate has been slowly rising in the state, and five Illinois counties have a medium community level of COVID-19, officials said.

The counties include DuPage, Lake, Champaign, Logan and McLean.

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At this level, persons who are elderly or immunocompromised are advised to wear a mask in indoor public places, health officials said. 

"The most important point we want to stress about COVID-19 treatments is that timing is essential, and the public should know that it is critically important to consult a healthcare provider and seek treatment immediately if you test positive," said DPH Acting Director Amaal Tokars. "The treatments are widely available with a prescription, and they are much more effective at preventing hospitalizations and deaths when they are taken early in the course of the illness."

Additional information and COVID-19 data can be found here: https://dph.illinois.gov/covid19.html.