COVID numbers continue to rise in Region 7

The positivity rate for the novel coronavirus continues on an upward trend in Region 7, which includes Will and Kankakee counties.

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) reports the regional data with a three day lag period. The latest numbers show the seven day rolling average positivity rate for Region 7 for Oct. 28, Oct. 29, and Oct. 30 as 10.8%, 11.4%, and 12.4%, respectively.  The numbers are slightly higher when Will County is isolated from the region. Will County data for Oct. 28, Oct. 29, and Oct. 30 is are 11.4%, 12%, and 12.8%, respectively.

Region 7 remains under Tier 1 resurgence mitigaitons. Per those mitigations, indoor service at bars and restuarants has been suspended, and meetings and gatherings are limited to 25% of venue capacity. 

The IDPH on Monday reported 6,222 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 20 additional deaths, including one in Will County, a male in his 90s.

Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 423,502 cases, including 9,810 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years.  Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 68,118 specimens for a total 7,876,421.  As of Sunday night, 3,371 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19.  Of those, 722 patients were in the ICU and 298 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators. 

The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from October 26 – November 1 is 8.1%.  This is the number that IDPH has been consistently reporting in its daily releases and is calculated using total cases over total tests.  Similar to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, IDPH has been using test positivity for regional mitigation metrics on its website since mid-July.  Test positivity is calculated using the number of COVID-19 positive tests over total tests.  On October 29, 2020, IDPH began reporting the statewide test positivity in its daily releases.  The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from October 26, 2020 – November 1, 2020 is 9.7%.

Case positivity and test positivity rate are both relevant and offer insight into the bigger COVID-19 picture.  Case positivity helps us understand whether changes in the number of confirmed cases is due to more testing or due to more infections.  Whereas, test positivity accounts for repeated testing and helps us understand how the virus is spreading in the population over time.

All data are provisional and will change. In order to rapidly report COVID-19 information to the public, data are being reported in real-time. Information is constantly being entered into an electronic system and the number of cases and deaths can change as additional information is gathered.  For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.