The state of Illinois set a new record for single-day COVID cases on Thursday, with more than 18,000 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus reported within the last 24 hours.
According to figures from the Illinois Department of Public Health, a total of 18,942 cases of the virus were diagnosed in the last 24 hours, obliterating the previous record for most positive test results in a single day.
The state’s daily average for new COVID cases over the last seven days has also risen to 12,573, another new record since the pandemic began.
In all, 2,201,302 cases of the virus have been recorded since the pandemic began last spring, according to IDPH data.
The state also recorded 78 additional deaths related to COVID on Thursday. Illinois is now averaging 53 deaths per day because of the virus, the highest average the state has seen since mid-February, according to IDPH data.
In all, 27,435 deaths have been connected to COVID-19 in the state, with another 3,131 currently classified as “probable” COVID-19 fatalities.
Testing for COVID has also continued to accelerate in recent days, as Illinois residents get tested for the virus before traveling for the holidays. In the last 24 hours, 223,281 tests were returned to state laboratories, pushing the state’s daily testing average to 198,017, a new record high.
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The state’s positivity rate has continued to increase along with the increase in testing, with 6.3% of all tests now coming back positive for COVID, according to officials. Approximately 8.6% of individuals tested for COVID have been diagnosed with the virus in the last seven days, according to IDPH data.
Hospitalizations also continued to rise on Thursday, with 4,271 patients currently hospitalized for the virus in the state of Illinois. That number is the highest the state has seen since late December 2020, according to IDPH officials.
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Of those patients, 867 are currently in intensive care unit beds, with 29% of ICU beds currently in use by COVID patients in the state.
Approximately 12% of the state’s ICU beds are open, with that figure growing slowly in recent days.
