Illinois reports 5,644 new COVID-19 cases, 106 deaths
Colorized scanning electron micrograph of a VERO E6 cell (blue-green) exhibiting elongated cell projections and signs of apoptosis, after infection with SARS-COV-2 virus particles (yellow), which were isolated from a patient sample. Image captured at (IMAGE POINT FR/NIH/NIAID/BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images / Getty Images)
CHICAGO - Illinois health officials Tuesday announced another 5,644 positive cases of COVID-19 and 106 additional deaths.
The new cases were among 66,786 tests sent to the Illinois Department of Public Health in the past 24 hours, increasing the state’s average positivity rate to 7.4% from 7.2%.
Since the pandemic began, a total of 948,006 COVID-19 cases have been reported in Illinois and the state’s death toll now stands at 16,179, health officials said.
As of Monday night, 4,313 people statewide were hospitalized due to COVID-19, with 904 patients requiring intensive care and 506 on ventilators.
Vaccination of Illinois nursing home residents began this week. They are first in line for the vaccine, along with medical workers. More than 112,000 people had been vaccinated statewide as of Dec. 24, according to public health officials.