Slight uptick in COVID-19 cases reported in Illinois

Union County case numbers remain fairly steady

The Illinois Department of Public Health, IDPH, on Friday, April 1, reported 8,426 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including an increase of 87 deaths since March 25.

The number of new cases reported in Illinois has ticked upward for the past few weeks.

On March 11, 8,519 new cases were reported. The number dropped to 7,467 on March 18, and then rose to 8,039 on March 25 and then to the 8,426 reported on April 1.  

The number of cases reported in Union County has remained fairly steady.

IDPH statistics showed that on March 30, a total of 5,367 total cases had been recorded in Union County since the start of the pandemic. That total was unchanged from March 29.

As of April 1, IDPH was reporting a total of 3,069,650 cases, including 33,394 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois since the beginning of the pandemic.  

As of Thursday night, night, March 31, 500 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19.  Of those, 73 patients were in the ICU and 26 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators. 

Last week, IDPH informed Illinois vaccine providers that it has adopted the recommendation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, for a second booster dose for certain individuals at least four months after the first booster dose. 

The recommendation applies to adults over 50 years of age and to immunocompromised individuals over 12 years old. 

The CDC also recommended a second booster dose with an mRNA vaccine for all those who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for both their primary dose and their first booster, four months after their first booster dose. 

Those who already received an mRNA booster dose after their initial Johnson and Johnson primary vaccine do not need an additional booster unless they are either over the age of 50 years or immunocompromised.

The state also announced that providers who administer COVID-19 vaccines to uninsured individuals can bill the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services’, HFS,  COVID-19 Uninsured Program for vaccine administration. 

As of April 1, IDPH and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency were discontinuing their joint effort of the Statewide Community Partner Vaccination and Staffing Assistance Program. 

Vaccines will continue to be readily available at locations across the state, including pharmacies, local health departments, doctor’s offices and other health centers. 

Since the COVID-19 vaccine became available to the public, IDPH reports that millions of eligible adults and children across the state of Illinois have received their COVID-19 vaccine or booster dose.

IDPH said that the state remains among the highest in the Midwest for its vaccination rates, with more than two thirds of the population fully vaccinated.

A total of 21,374,596 vaccines had been administered in Illinois as of late last week.

Of Illinois’ total population, more than 76 percent had received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, more than 68 percent of Illinois’ total population was fully vaccinated and more than 50 percent had been boosted according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.    

All data are provisional and are subject to change.  

Last week, the federal government established a new website that provides an all-purpose toolkit that provides information on how to obtain masks, treatment, vaccines and testing resources for all areas of the country at: https://www.covid.gov/.

The Gazette-Democrat

112 Lafayette St.
Anna, Illinois 62906
Office Number: (618) 833-2158
Email: news@annanews.com

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