COVID-19 hospitalization numbers continue decline as testing sites reopen

Health department says recovery rate 42 days after a positive test is 92 percent

Photo credit blueroomstream.com
Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike is pictured in a file photo.

By: 
JERRY NOWICKI
Capitol News Illinois

Ten of Illinois’ 11 community based COVID-19 testing sites reopened Wednesday after temporary closures amid statewide unrest and protests.

The state made the announcement on the same day the Illinois Department of Public Health announced another 982 new cases of the virus among 24,471 tests processed in the last 24 hours. That made the positivity rate for the day 4 percent as the number of cases per person tested continues to decline.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from May 27 through June 2 is 6 percent, according to IDPH.

The state also announced 97 additional COVID-19-related deaths, pushing the total number of virus-related deaths to 5,621. There have been 123,830 confirmed cases among 959,175 tests performed. The recovery rate for those who tested positive more than 42 days ago, according to IDPH, is 92 percent.
Hospitalization numbers continue to trend slightly downward as well, as there were 3,173 COVID-19 patients hospitalized as of midnight Wednesday, with 844 in intensive care unit beds and 508 on ventilators. Those numbers are all as low as they’ve been since the state began reporting the numbers daily on April 12, although the numbers change as more test results arrive and more information is gathered.

The Wednesday testing total was back over 24,000 after three straight days on the decline.

The testing sites that will be reopening include Harwood Heights, Aurora, Rockford, East St. Louis, Bloomington, South Holland, Auburn/Gresham/Chatham, Champaign, Rolling Meadows and Peoria.

A site in Waukegan will reopen at 102 W. Water St. in that city Thursday after moving to a new location to accommodate the restoration of vehicle emission testing at the IEPA-managed facility on Northwestern Ave.
Individuals with symptoms are encouraged to seek testing at the community-based sites, which are also open to healthcare workers; first responders; correctional facility employees; individuals exposed to confirmed COVID-19 patients; employees that support critical infrastructure such as grocery stores, restaurants, child care and pharmacies; local and state government employees; and individuals with compromised immune systems or chronic medical conditions.
Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat and new loss of taste or smell.

Testing is a free service that can be obtained without a doctor’s referral, according to IDPH. Those tested at the community-based sites will, however, be asked to show a photo identification and healthcare employee or first responder ID badge, if applicable.

Other commercial testing sites are also available throughout the state, and they can be found at https://coronavirus.illinois.gov/s/testing-sites

For more information on COVID-19, visit www.dph.illinois.gov or call the COVID-19 hotline at 1-800-889-3931. Questions can also be emailed to DPH.Sick@Illinois.gov.