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The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations statewide has fallen below 500 for the first time since Illinois health officials began tracking the number of cases in hospitals more than 14 months ago.
Some suburban hospital officials have even reported no inpatients for COVID-19.
“This week, for the first time since March 2020, Advocate Sherman Hospital celebrated a day when we did not have any COVID-19 patients in our care,” said Dr. Justin Macariola Quad, Chief Medical Officer at Elgin Hospital. “This milestone brings a new sense of hope and boosts the work of vaccines to end this pandemic.
“As we celebrate this victory, we know it may be temporary,” Macariola Quad said. “COVID-19 remains a threat, especially for those who have not been vaccinated. I encourage anyone who has not yet been vaccinated to do so. Vaccines are safe and effective and we are back to our normal lives.”
The Edward Hospital in Naperville is treating only three patients with the virus, while Elmhurst Hospital has only one COVID-19 patient, officials said.
Across the state, COVID-19 patients occupy 1.5% of all available hospital beds, according to Illinois Department of Public Health records.
At the height of the virus’ impact on the state’s health system in late November, COVID-19 patients consumed 19% of the state’s hospital beds, including 37% of all intensive care beds.
IDPH officials reported Friday that 492 patients are being treated for COVID-19 infections at hospitals statewide. Of those hospitalized, 25% – 123 patients – are in intensive care.
At the start of the pandemic in April 2020, hospitals statewide were treating up to 1,290 patients in intensive care beds per day, according to IDPH records.
IDPH officials also reported Friday that 50,171 additional doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have reached the arms of people in Illinois.
The state’s largest public health agency reports that 46.3% of the state’s population is now fully vaccinated. Among the vaccine-eligible population of anyone 12 years of age or older, 67.3% received at least one dose.
Statewide vaccine providers have now delivered 1,215,530 million doses in the six months that the vaccine was available in Illinois, according to IDPH records.
IDPH records show that suburban Cook County and DuPage County are the only two areas in the state where more than 50% of the population is fully vaccinated.
Meanwhile, IDPH also reported 13 more deaths from the virus on Friday, along with 102 new cases diagnosed.
This brings the state’s death toll from COVID-19 to 23,133, with 1,388,688 residents infected.
The state’s seven-day case positivity rate is 0.6%, another all-time low. Case positivity allows health officials to track the level of infection within a particular population. The rate is the percentage of new cases derived from a pool of new tests. The seven-day average is used to calculate any abnormalities in the daily reports of the numbers.
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