* Still a lot of cases, but it’s down from last week’s highs…

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 3,536 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 31 additional deaths.

- Carroll County: 1 male 70s
- Cook County: 1 female 20s, 1 female 30s, 1 female 50s, 3 males 60s, 1 female 70s, 4 males 70s, 2 females 80s, 3 males 80s
- DuPage County: 1 female 60s, 1 male 90s
- Kane County: 1 male 30s
- Lake County: 1 male 60s, 1 male 80s
- Madison County: 1 male 70s
- McHenry County: 1 female 90s
- Peoria County: 1 female 40s
- Richland County: 1 female 60s
- Tazewell County: 1 male 80s
- Vermilion County: 1 female 30s, 1 female 70s
- Whiteside County: 1 female 30s
- Will County: 1 male 80s

Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,288,934 cases, including 21,570 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 88,390 specimens for a total of 21,371,760. As of last night, 2,076 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 453 patients were in the ICU and 198 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.

The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from April 7-13, 2021 is 4.2%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from April 7-13, 2021 is 5.0%.

The total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses for Illinois is 9,386,135. A total of 7,482,650 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 132,810 doses. Yesterday, 138,538 doses were reported 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.

* Part of Gov. Pritzker’s response to a question today…

We are seeing upward movement of our cases and hospitalizations, obviously. But we have seen a beginning of maybe a lessening of the rise of cases. I don’t want to predict anything because this virus is unpredictable. But I think at least in the short term that seems to be good news.

Thoughts?

…Adding… Press release…

To further expand availability of the COVID-19 vaccine, Governor JB Pritzker today announced an additional state mass vaccination site in Cook County and that will open to all eligible Illinois residents on Thursday, April 15. As of April 12, all Illinois residents age 16 and older are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine with nearly 19,000 residents receiving vaccinations at state mass vaccination sites in the first 24 hours of universal vaccine eligibility. With the state’s seven-day test positivity rate and hospitalizations on the rise, local and state health officials are urging Illinois residents to seek out a vaccination location near them in order to protect themselves and their families from COVID-19.

“I’m proud to deploy Illinois National Guard teams and additional state resources to Cook County to ensure residents can receive their vaccines as efficiently and equitably as possible,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “The brave men and women of the Guard have already administered over one million vaccine doses to Illinoisans across the state, and as the federal government prepares to increase Illinois’ deliveries to over 100,000 a day in the coming weeks, IDPH and our 97 local health departments are prepared to meet the moment. In the meantime, I encourage all Illinoisans to wear their masks and stay vigilant as we power through to the other side of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Opening on April 15, the former Target location in Matteson is the 12th mass vaccination site located in Cook and the collar counties and is the state’s 21st mass vaccination site open to all eligible Illinois residents. The new site will provide Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. The State of Illinois is committed to improving healthcare access and equity in underserved communities that have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.