The variant strain of COVID-19 has now been identified in the United States, as Colorado reported its first confirmed case and Gov. Gavin Newsom of California reported the strain has also been detected in southern California. Now, officials are seeing if the variant strain is now in Illinois. NBC 5’s Vi Nguyen has the story.
Health officials in Illinois reported 4,762 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus on Saturday along with 29 additional deaths attributed to the virus.
According to the latest data from the Illinois Department of Public Health, the state has now reported 975,352 cases of the virus since the pandemic began, along with 16,674 total fatalities.
Over the last 24 hours, 61,987 new tests returned to labs across the state. In all, 13,436,652 tests have been performed during the pandemic, according to IDPH data.
The state's seven-day positivity rate for tests increased to 9.6% Saturday, up from 9.5% Friday, while the positivity rate for cases rose to 8.3%.
Hospitalizations in the state held steady Saturday at 3,799 patients receiving care for the coronavirus. The number of patients in intensive care units dropped to 783, while there are currently 458 patients on ventilators in the state due to COVID-19.
