Illinois reports 5,742 new cases of COVID-19, 156 additional deaths
The yellow shapes are the novel coronavirus known as SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, seen in a scanning electron microscope image. (NIAID-RML)
CHICAGO - Illinois health officials Friday announced 5,742 new cases of COVID-19 along with 156 additional deaths.
The latest deaths included two Cook County men in their 40s and a DuPage woman in her 100s, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Since the pandemic began, a total of 930,849 COVID-19 cases have been reported in Illinois and the state’s death toll now stands at 15,799, health officials said.
Almost 99,000 coronavirus tests were processed in Illinois labs the past 24 hours, health officials said. The state’s average positivity rate over the last week is now at 7.1%.
As of Christmas Eve, 4,352 people statewide were hospitalized due to complications from COVID-19, with 928 of those patients in the ICU and 538 on ventilators.