COVID-19 deaths in Illinois now exceed 14,000.
The latest daily death toll is 190, pushing the number of people who have died from complications of the virus up to 14,050.
State Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike says the new vaccines bring a lot of hope, but still won’t be available to the masses for months. For now, she says everyone needs to help reduce transmission and ease the burden on Illinois hospitals.
“We’re already teetering. We have some areas where there are a dozen intensive beds in the region right now so a big surge cannot be handled. That means those coming in with a heart attack, people who are coming in after a car accident, the staff will have to take on more patients at a time.”
Ezike urges anyone who has symptoms or who has been exposed to COVID to go get a test.
The seven-day positivity rate for Illinois is now 9.4-percent. The Southern Illinois Region positivity rate for the week ending December 8th is 12.4-percent. The availability of ICU beds is down to 16-percent. 31-percent of Med-Serg beds are available. In the Metro East Region, the positivity rate is 14.5-percent. The number of ICU beds available has fallen to 13 percent. Only 14.5-percent of Med-Serg beds are available. The East Central Illinois Region is at 11.2-percent. 22-percent of Med-Serg beds and 29-percent of ICU beds are currently available.
