Illinois health officials reported 11,378 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus along with 155 deaths Wednesday as testing ramps up across the state.
CHICAGO (WLS) — Illinois public health officials reported 11,378 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 along with 155 deaths Wednesday. The total number of cases in Illinois now stands at 685,467, with a total of 11,832 deaths. Over a 24-hour period, officials said the state processed 114,233 specimens. In total there have been 10,104,537 tests specimens tested since the start of the pandemic in Illinois. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from Nov.18 – Nov.24 is 12.2%. As of Tuesday night,6,133 people in Illinois were reported to be hospitalized with COVID-19. Of those,1,208 patients were in the ICU with COVID-19 and 679 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators. Officials once again implored people to stay home this Thanksgiving and keep celebrations to within your household, saying the future course of the pandemic could depend on what we all do this week. »This crisis may come to an end in just a few months, » Gov. JB Pritzker said. « Every day that we take action to stop the spread gets us one day closer to widespread distribution of the vaccines with fewer lives lost along the way. »On the eve of Thanksgiving, more than 6,100 people are in Illinois hospitals fighting COVID-19 – that number has remained essentially flat the past few days. In the past seven days,818 people in Illinois have lost their lives. That ties a week in mid-May for the deadliest seven-day stretch during this pandemic. Illinois also reached an important milestone Wednesday, crossing 10 million total tests, with more than a million in just the past 10 days. A lot of people are getting tested ahead of the holiday and demand is expected to be very high after this weekend. Officials say if you go against the guidance and decide to travel for Thanksgiving and mix households, it’s a good idea to get tested. »Most people will show a positive test, if they’re going to, at day seven.
