* Press release…

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 1,682 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 30 additional deaths.

- Christian County: 1 female 90s
- Coles County: 1 female 50s
- Cook County: 2 males 50s, 1 female 60s, 1 female 70s, 1 male 70s, 2 males 80s, 1 female 90s
- Edgard County: 1 male 50s
- Fayette County: 1 male 70s
- Jefferson County: 1 male 60s
- Kane County: 1 male 30s, 1 female 70s
- Kendall County: 1 female 70s
- Lake County: 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s
- Ogle County: 1 female 80s
- Perry County: 1 male 50s
- Rock Island County: 1 female 60s
- St. Clair County: 1 male 50s, 1 male 60s, 2 females 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s
- Stephenson County: 1 male 70s
- Will County: 1 female 80s
- Winnebago County: 1 female 80s

Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,202,709 cases, including 20,810 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 71,488 specimens for a total of 18,804,759. As of last night, 1,157 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 242 patients were in the ICU and 111 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.

The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from March 3-9, 2021 is 2.3%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from March 3-9, 2021 is 2.6%.

A total of doses of 4,323,145 vaccine have been delivered to providers in Illinois, including Chicago. In addition, approximately 414,900 doses total have been allocated to the federal government’s Pharmacy Partnership Program for long-term care facilities. This brings the total Illinois doses to 4,738,045. A total of 3,567,927 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight, including 349,983 for long-term care facilities. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 95,369 doses. Yesterday, 104,777 doses were administered in Illinois.

*All data are provisional and will change. In order to rapidly report COVID-19 information to the public, data are being reported in real-time. Information is constantly being entered into an electronic system and the number of cases and deaths can change as additional information is gathered. Information for a death previously reported has changed, therefore, today’s numbers have been adjusted. For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.

* By the way, DuPage, Kane and McHenry counties saw a major two-day spike in their positivity rates at the beginning of the month, but those have since dissipated. The spikes were attributed to a lag in reporting some positive results. Even so, rates are creeping back up in all three counties.