Coronavirus Positivity Rate Rises To 11.3% In Cook County Suburbs

Jonah Meadows
Updated ·8 min read

COOK COUNTY, IL — Coronavirus positivity and hospitalization rates continued rising across Illinois, as Gov. J.B. Pritzker warned of additional restrictions on the state as soon as next week to stem the spread of COVID-19. Public health officials continued to report record-setting numbers of new daily cases in the first week of November, declaring Friday that nearly three out of every four counties in the state is considered to be at a warning level for COVID-19.

In suburban Cook County, Region 10 in the governor's regional coronavirus mitigation plan, the positivity rate surged by 2.7 percentage points in the seven days leading up to Tuesday, rising from 8.6 percent to 11.3 percent. The rate has risen nearly every day since new restrictions on indoor dining were announced.

At the same time, the rate of new daily hospitalizations of people with symptoms of COVID-19 rose by more than 37 percent. The rounded rolling average of what public health officials consider "COVID-like illnesses," or CLI, increased from 59 to 81 people a day Tuesday. The three-day rolling average of surgical bed availability fell to 20 percent in the region, an all-time low and a threshold set by the state for additional restrictions.

At a news conference Friday, Pritzker said he was prepared to increase restrictions throughout the state. Each of the state's 11 coronavirus mitigation regions has triggered at least the first tier of additional mitigations. Region 1 in northwest Illinois is under Tier 2 mitigations. The third tier includes restrictions on non-essential businesses, gatherings and medical procedures. The governor has warned any of those restrictions, as well as those included in each of earlier stages of his Restore Illinois plan, may be possible as soon as this week.

"It's the last thing I want to do but I'm ready to do it," Pritzker said. "Because we can't make these numbers flatten and go back down since there is no vaccine or medication. The only way that science shows us how to do that is by having less interaction, and that means cutting off people's ability to interact in certain places."

RELATED: Illinois COVID-19 Hot Spots: Schools, Restaurants Top New List

As of Friday, there were 75 counties, as well as the city of Chicago, that had reached a warning level, where two more countywide risk indicators suggest an increased risk of virus transmission.

They include: Adams, Alexander, Bond, Boone, Bureau, Calhoun, Carroll, Chicago, Christian, Clay, Clinton, Coles, Cook, Crawford, Cumberland, DeKalb, Douglas, DuPage, Effingham, Franklin, Fulton, Gallatin, Greene, Grundy, Hamilton, Hancock, Iroquois, Jackson, Jasper, Jersey, Jo Daviess, Johnson, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Knox, Lake, LaSalle, Lee, Livingston, Logan, Macon, Madison, Marion, Mason, Massac, McHenry, Mercer, Monroe, Morgan, Moultrie, Ogle, Peoria, Perry, Pike, Pulaski, Putnam, Randolph, Rock Island, Saline, Sangamon, Scott, Shelby, St. Clair, Stephenson, Tazewell, Vermilion, Wabash, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Whiteside, Will, Williamson, Winnebago, and Woodford counties.

Seventy-five counties in Illinois were at an "orange" warning level for COVID-19 risk, as of Friday, according to state public health officials. (Illinois Department of Public Health)
Seventy-five counties in Illinois were at an "orange" warning level for COVID-19 risk, as of Friday, according to state public health officials. (Illinois Department of Public Health)

RELATED: Illinois On 'Dark Path' As Coronavirus Rate Surges, Pritzker Says

On Friday, public health officials announced 10,376 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, as well as the deaths of 49 additional residents. During the prior 24 hours, labs in the state processed more than 98,000 specimens, an increase of 3,000 compared to a week earlier.

For the week of Oct. 30 to Nov. 5, the preliminary statewide case positivity rate was 9.6 percent. During the same period, the test positivity rate — calculated as the number of COVID-19 positive tests over total tests completed — rose to 11.1 percent statewide, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

As of late Thursday night, there were 4,090 people in Illinois reported to be hospitalized with COVID-19 — nearly 1,000 more than seven days earlier.

Of those hospitalized, there were 786 people in the state's intensive care units, up from 673 the prior week and rising by more than 50 percent in the past two weeks, according to the department. There were 339 people in the state's hospitals on invasive ventilators, an increase of 51 people compared to the prior week.

Illinois Coronavirus Update: State Reports Over 10,000 New Coronavirus Cases — Another Record — Don't miss updates about precautions in the Chicago area as they are announced — Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters.

Data through Tuesday was released Friday. Find the latest metrics from all regions below:

Region 1 (Rockford EMS region)

  • 15.8 percent positivity on Nov. 3, up from 13.2 percent a week earlier

  • 24 new hospitalizations of patients with "COVID-like illnesses," on average, every day, compared to 14 the prior week

  • 32 percent of surgical beds and 38 percent of ICU beds are available, on average, compared to 33 percent of surgical beds and 36 percent of ICU beds a week earlier

Region 2 (Peoria EMS region)

  • 10.7 percent coronavirus positivity rate on Nov. 3, up from 8.5 percent a week earlier

  • 28 new daily hospital admissions of people with COVID-19 symptoms, up by 10 from the prior week.

  • 36 percent of both surgical beds and ICU beds are available, according to the region's three-day rolling average, compared to 35 percent of surgical beds and 38 percent of ICU beds the prior week

Region 3 (Springfield EMS region)

  • 11.4 percent coronavirus positivity rate on Nov. 3, up from 9.3 percent a week earlier

  • 14 new daily hospital admissions, up by three from a week earlier

  • 33 percent of surgical beds and 30 percent of ICU beds are available, compared to 31 percent of surgical beds and 25 percent of ICU beds the prior week

Region 4 (Edwardsville EMS region)

  • 10.7 percent coronavirus positivity rate on Oct. 27, up from 8.7 percent a week earlier

  • Eight new daily hospital admissions with COVID-19 symptoms, up from five the prior week

  • 30 percent of surgical beds and 39 percent of ICU beds are available, compared to 28 percent of surgical beds and 45 percent of ICU beds the prior week

Region 5 (Marion EMS region)

  • 10.6 percent coronavirus positivity rate on Nov. 3, up from 9.7 percent a week earlier

  • 11 new daily hospital admissions with CLI in the region, on average, up from 10 a week earlier

  • 48 percent of surgical beds and 48 percent of ICU beds are available, on average, compared to 46 percent of surgical beds and 51 percent of ICU beds

Region 6 (Champaign EMS region)

  • 10.2 percent coronavirus positivity rate on Nov. 3, when the University of Illinois' comprehensive saliva testing program is excluded, compared to 8.6 percent a week earlier

  • 22 new daily hospital admissions with coronavirus symptoms, up from 19 the prior week

  • 32 percent of surgical beds and 42 percent of ICU beds are available, compared to 33 percent of surgical beds and 40 percent of ICU beds a week earlier

Region 7 (Will, Kankakee counties)

  • 14.2 percent coronavirus positivity rate on Nov. 3 — up from 10.5 percent the prior week and 9.2 percent two weeks earlier

  • 26 people a day were being admitted to the region's hospitals with COVID-19 symptoms, on average, up from 21 the prior week and 16 two weeks ago

  • 23 percent of surgical beds and 28 percent of ICU beds are available at hospitals in the region, the same average availability of surgical beds and one point more ICU bed availability than a week earlier

Region 8 (Kane, DuPage counties)

  • 12.7 percent coronavirus positivity rate on Nov. 3, up from 9.8 percent a week earlier. New restrictions went into effect in the region two weeks ago

  • 46 people a day were being hospitalized with coronavirus symptoms in the region, on average, up from 36 a week earlier

  • 23 percent of surgical beds and 37 percent of ICU beds remain available, one point more surgical bed availability and the same ICU bed availability as a week earlier

Region 9 (Lake, McHenry counties)

  • 11.6 percent coronavirus positivity rate on Nov. 3, up from 9.1 percent the prior week. The region's positivity rate has risen in each of the past 10 days

  • 31 people newly admitted to hospitals with coronavirus systems every day, on average — up from 19 a week earlier

  • 30 percent of surgical beds and 41 percent of ICU beds were available, compared to 33 percent of surgical beds and 47 percent of ICU beds the prior week

Region 10 (Suburban Cook County)

  • 11.3 percent coronavirus positivity rate on Nov. 3, up from 8.6 percent a week earlier

  • 81 people a day, on average, were admitted to hospitals with COVID-19 symptoms, up from 59 a week earlier. The rounded seven-day rolling average has risen on eight of the past 10 days

  • 20 percent of surgical beds and 27 percent of ICU beds were available in the region's hospitals, compared to 22 percent of surgical beds and 28 percent of ICU beds a week earlier

Region 11 (Chicago)

  • 11 percent positivity rate on Nov. 3, up from 8.4 percent a week earlier

  • 73 people a day, on average, were admitted to hospitals in the city with coronavirus symptoms, up from 51 the prior week

  • 23 percent of surgical beds were available and 26 percent of ICU beds remained available, on average, compared to 22 percent of surgical beds and 29 percent of ICU beds a week earlier

This article originally appeared on the Evanston Patch