CHICAGO (CBS) — The Illinois Department of Public Health on Saturday announced 1,639 new COVID-19 cases and eight new deaths.
The new figures bring the total number of cases for Illinois to 180,476 and the deaths to 7,503.
The deaths reported Saturday include one man in his 70s and one in his 80s in Cook County; one woman in her 60s, one woman and one man in their 80s, and one woman in her 90s in Kane County; one woman in her 70s in McHenry County; and one man in his 70s in St. Clair County.
A total of 39,809 coronavirus tests were returned Saturday. The preliminary positivity rate from July 25 to July 31 is 3.9 percent.
As of Friday night, 1,347 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 statewide, of whom 334 were in the ICU and 148 were on ventilators.
On Friday, state officials warned that 11 counties in Illinois — Cass, Gallatin, Jackson, Jo Daviess, Johnson, Perry, Randolph, Saline, Sangamon, St. Clair, and White — have been placed on a “warning level” for COVID-19, meaning tighter restrictions could be imposed if infection rates and hospitalizations continue to increase.
“These counties saw outbreaks associated with business operations and activities posing higher risk for disease spread, including school graduation ceremonies, a rise in cases among late teens and 20s, parties and social gatherings, people going to bars, long-term care outbreaks, clusters of cases associated with restaurants and churches, and big sports events including soccer, golf, and softball tournaments,” IDPH officials stated in a news release issued Friday. “Residents of many communities are not wearing face coverings that have been proven to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Public health officials are finding that most contacts to cases are testing positive as well.”
Gov. JB Pritzker has said every region of Illinois has seen recent increases in positive test rates and daily cases of the virus, and he warned those on the warning list could see some recently lifted restrictions imposed again if their virus trends don’t improve — such as closing bars, reducing capacity at restaurants and other businesses, and limiting other types of activities.
