COVID-19 Hospitalizations Spike Nearly 60 Percent In Illinois
ILLINOIS — A week after Gov. J.B. Pritzker painted a bleak picture of ICU bed capacity amid rising COVID-19 cases and a surge of the omicron variant in Illinois, data shows hospitalizations have increased more than 58 percent over the last two weeks.
Illinois is showing a rate of 54.4 COVID-19 hospitalizations per 100,000 people, according to an NBC News analysis of Health and Human Services Department Data. NBC said the spike in hospitalizations was most noticeable in some Midwestern and Mid-Atlantic states.
Illinois' coronavirus hospitalization increase was higher than its neighbors', including Kentucky (50 percent increase), Missouri (49 percent increase), Wisconsin (31 percent increase), Iowa (19 percent increase) and Indiana (13 percent increase).
IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike confirmed the hospitalization spike during a press conference Wednesday afternoon.
"We have never had this many COVID patients in the hospital at any point in the pandemic," she said. "This is the highest number, and not just by a couple — the previous totals were smashed."
As of Tuesday, the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 across the state had jumped from 4,359 patients to 6,901 over the previous two weeks. The Illinois Department of Public health said 1,152 of those patients were in intensive care. But that's an improvement over Friday, when state health officials reported 7,096 COVID-19 patients in Illinois hospitals, although ICU patients increased from 1,123.
On Friday, Illinois reported 201,428 new COVID-19 cases over the previous seven days, plus 444 additional deaths.
Other states are seeing even bigger hospitalization increases than Illinois. Hospitalizations in Texas are up 141 percent and up 143 percent in California. In Louisiana, they're up 342 percent, according to the data. Meanwhile, the hospitalization rate in Washington, D.C., was the nation's highest at 124.4 per 100,000 people, followed by New Jersey (68.3) and New York (63.1).
Currently, anyone in the hospital who tests positive for the coronavirus is included in coronavirus hospitalization counts sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That includes "incidental" COVID-19 cases, or patients who tested positive after showing up at the hospital for other reasons. In Illinois, the state health department said it does not collect data that differentiates between so-called "acute" and "incidental" cases.
Staffing issues
A week after Pritzker called ICU bed capacity "frighteningly limited" statewide, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said 8.8 percent of Illinois hospitals, or 16 locations, were reporting critical staffing issues.
Last week, Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox said it was over capacity with 338 patients — 38 more than the total available beds.
Some hospitals in the Chicago area have reinstated "no visitors" policies in response to the rising numbers.
How the Chicago area is faring
Some hospitals in the Chicago area were reporting fewer COVID-19 patients Tuesday, but the news was mixed: Elmhurst Hospital was reporting a dozen fewer coronavirus patients Tuesday, but said five people had died of the virus in the past day.
ICU capacity was still an issue in some areas. Region 7, which includes Will and Kankakee counties, had just six ICU beds available last week. By Tuesday, the situation had not improved, and available beds remained at six.
Meanwhile, Southern Illinois' Region 5, one of the hardest-hit regions in terms of ICU capacity, was at a comparable five available ICU beds.
Related:
25% Of Pediatric COVID Patients Are In ICU: IL Advocate Doctors
IDPH 'Unable' To Say How Many Children Are Hospitalized For COVID
This article originally appeared on the Chicago Patch
