Health officials in Illinois confirmed more than 1,200 new cases of coronavirus on Thursday, along with 25 additional deaths.
According to data from the Illinois Department of Public Health, a total of 1,257 new cases were reported over the last 24 hours, bringing the statewide total of cases during the pandemic to 157,950.
Thursday's death toll brings the number of fatalities related to COVID-19 to 7,251, according to health officials.
In all, 43,006 new specimens were returned to laboratories in the state, marking a new daily testing record for the state, which has now reported 2,122,607 test results since the pandemic began.
The rolling seven-day positivity rate remains at just over three percent, according to health officials.
Hospitalization numbers dropped slightly, with 1,434 hospitalizations for COVID-19. Of those patients, 311 were in intensive care units, and 127 patients were on ventilators as of Wednesday evening.
The new numbers comes as Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced changes in Illinois' health regions and warned that the state won't hesitate to roll back some reopening progress to prevent further spread. His comments were echoed in Chicago, where officials said the city is "dangerously close" to reversing course in some areas.
