Governor JB Pritzker says the next four weeks will be crucial in the fight against COVID-19.
He says some numbers have been improving, but are still way too high.
“In the most recent week, we have started to see a slight decrease in hospitalizations. Even with this downward movement, our COVID-19 hospitalization total is still 14-percent higher than our spring peak,” said Pritzker.
In fact, three out of four staffed hospital beds statewide are currently in use and an average of 152 COVID patients are dying each day in Illinois. The Governor says that’s why it’s so important to wear a mask and avoid large gatherings over the holidays.
The Illinois Department of Public Health on Monday announced an additional 8,691 new or probable cases of COVID-19. There were 90 additional deaths.
The Statewide positivity rate for the past seven days is up a tenth of a percent to 10.3-percent. The Southern Illinois Region has a positivity rate of 13.4-percent. The Marion County rate jumped to 14.6-percent. The Metro East Region positivity rate is at 15.1-percent. The East Central Illinois Region is at 12.2-percent.
