As Illinois continues to see a surge in COVID cases and hospitalizations, one of the state’s healthcare regions is being hit especially hard, with just one ICU bed available for an area covering 20 of the state’s 102 counties.
According to the latest figures from the Illinois Department of Public Health, in the state’s Region 5, located in the far southern tip of Illinois, there is only one intensive care unit bed available out of the 84 that the region possesses.
That has occurred because the region has seen its intensive care population increase on 29 of the last 30 days, according to IDPH figures. Hospital bed availability has plummeted in that time, and the region’s positivity rate on COVID tests has increased from 8.1% on July 23 to 10.8% as of Aug. 21, the last date for which data is available.
Other regions are dealing with ICU bed availability issues as well. In Region 1, located in the northwestern corner of the state, there are currently 21 beds available out of 171 total ICU beds. In Region 4, located next to St. Louis in the southwestern part of Illinois, 22 ICU beds are available, and in Region 6, comprised of Champaign County and several other large counties, 24 ICU beds are available out of 143.
According to IDPH, at least 37 counties in Illinois are at a “warning level” for intensive care unit bed availabilities, meaning that fewer than 20% of the ICU beds in those counties are available.
That news comes as the state continues to see high transmission rates of COVID-19. According to the latest data from the CDC, 101 of Illinois’ 102 counties are seeing “high levels” of transmission, meaning that they are reporting more than 100 new cases of COVID per 100,000 residents each week.
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With all of these metrics in mind, Gov. J.B. Pritzker threatened to impose “significantly greater mitigations” if numbers don’t begin to decline in the state.
In the last week, 24,682 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the state, a 21% increase over the previous week.
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Here is a region-by-region breakdown of COVID metrics as of Tuesday:
Region 1 (Northwest Illinois)
Positivity Rate: 6.4% (decreasing)
ICU Bed Availability: 13% (decreasing)
Hospitalization Rates: 5/10 days increasing
Region 2 (West-Central Illinois)
Positivity Rate: 6.4% (steady)
ICU Bed Availability: 22% (increasing)
Hospitalization Rates: 10/10 days increasing
Region 3 (West Illinois)
Positivity Rate: 6.7% (increasing)
ICU Bed Availability: 15% (decreasing)
Hospitalization Rates: 8/10 days increasing
Region 4 (Southwest Illinois)
Positivity Rate: 8.8% (decreasing)
ICU Bed Availability: 22% (steady)
Hospitalization Rates: 9/10 days increasing
Region 5 (South Illinois)
Positivity Rate: 10.8% (decreasing)
ICU Bed Availability: 4% (decreasing)
Hospitalization Rates: 10/10 days increasing
Region 6 (East-Central Illinois)
Positivity Rate: 8.3% (steady)
ICU Bed Availability: 22% (steady)
Hospitalization Rates: 8/10 days increasing
Region 7 (Will, Kankakee Counties)
Positivity Rate: 6.8% (decreasing)
ICU Bed Availability: 24% (increasing)
Hospitalization Rates: 10/10 days increasing
Region 8 (Kane, DuPage Counties)
Positivity Rate: 5.9% (steady)
ICU Bed Availability: 22% (steady)
Hospitalization Rates: 10/10 days increasing
Region 9 (McHenry, Lake Counties)
Positivity Rate: 5.9% (decreasing)
ICU Bed Availability: 15% (decreasing)
Hospitalization Rates: 8/10 days increasing
Region 10 (Suburban Cook County)
Positivity Rate: 4.6% (decreasing)
ICU Bed Availability: 18% (steady)
Hospitalization Rates: 9/10 days increasing
Region 11 (Chicago)
Positivity Rate: 4.2% (decreasing)
ICU Bed Availability: 18% (decreasing)
Hospitalization Rates: 10/10 days increasing
