Illinois COVID 19 Update Today: IL reports 7,873 new coronavirus cases, 108 deaths

Chicago (WLS)-Illinois public health officials reported 7,873 new, potentially confirmed cases of COVID-19, along with 108 deaths on Saturday.

See: Lower Illinois positive rates may be a sign that mitigation measures are working, Pritzker says

The total number of cases in Illinois is currently 712,936, with a total of 12,137 deaths.

Authorities said the state processed 79,055 specimens over a 24-hour period. A total of 10,368,278 test specimens have been tested since the start of the pandemic in Illinois.

The state-wide preliminary test positive rate for the seven days from November 21st to 27th is 12.2%.

As of Friday night, 5,775 people in Illinois were reported hospitalized for COVID-19. Of these, 1,211 patients were in the COVID-19 ICU and 686 COVID-19 patients were on mechanical ventilation.

See: Authorities urge virtual Thanksgiving celebrations to prevent the spread of the virus

Officials in Illinois and across the country have begged Americans to limit their Thanksgiving holiday trips to help prevent the outbreak of the prevailing coronavirus from spreading even faster.

However, millions of people ignored the warning and left home this week. Experts fear that cold weather will mean more infections and deaths in the coming weeks as cold weather brings people closer to indoors.

The virus returned aggressively in October after a quiet summer regained calm. Illinois recorded the 11,000th death on November 18, after recording 1,000 deaths in just 13 days, and then increased by another 1,000 to 12,000 in the next nine days.

This is consistent with the pandemic’s lowest spring figures, where deaths increased from 2,000 to 4,000 in the 17 days from April 29th to May 15th.

Similarly, the spread of infection has not slowed. It took the same 17 days for the number of confirmed cases to increase from 500,000 to 700,000. 159 days have passed since the beginning of the daily new case reporting period, March 5, and 200,000 cases were recorded on August 13.

The state doubled that number, reaching 400,000 in 77 days and jumping to 600,000 in 19 days.

Related: Location of COVID-19 inspection in Chicago area

Virus testing is much more available than in spring. The 77,000 test results recorded on Friday were the first day when the total fell below 90,000 in almost three weeks, with an average daily result of over 100,000.

However, state health officials claim that increased testing can hardly explain the exponential growth of cases.

The difficult fall has increased the capacity of hospitals, and more importantly, there is a shortage of medical staff, while there is no borrowing from other states like last spring. Belleville News-Democrat reported on Friday that 87% of the beds in a manned hospital in the eastern metro region (a suburb of Illinois, St. Louis) were full.

The number of people hospitalized in Illinois has fallen below 6,000 for the first time since November 18, but the remaining are ill. The 1,215 patients in the intensive care unit increased by 6% in these 9 days. The most serious illness (those who need mechanical ventilation to breathe) fell to 698 on Friday, an increase of 28% from November 18.

However, those suffering from COVID-19 have antibodies, which are a valuable weapon for those who are currently fighting the corona virus. The (Springfield) State Journal Register reports that the Central Illinois Community Blood Center is collecting plasma from the blood of COVID-19 patients collected.

The surge in virus decline has boosted demand. According to the Memorial Health System, nearly one-third of patients in five central hospitals in Illinois are infected with COVID-19.

The coronavirus has wiped out the traditional holiday cheers at the Illinois General Assembly in Springfield.There are no Christmas trees or holiday exhibits inside or outside the building

The Parliament building was closed for several months with permission to everyone except employees and others. The tour was interrupted a few months ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The dome lights of the Parliament building will not be used for the second consecutive year. Engineers recommend strengthening the observatory used to secure the lights.

Huge artificial trees are usually placed in circular buildings.Not this year

The deaths reported on Saturday are:
-Bureau County: One woman in the 80’s
-Cook County: 1 woman in her 30s, 3 women in her 40s, 2 men in her 40s, 3 men in her 50s, 6 women in her 60s, 9 men in her 60s, 10 women 70s, 10 men 70s, 12 women 80s, 11 men 80s, 5 women 90s, 3 men 90s

-DuPage County: 1 male in 50s, 1 female in 60s, 2 males in 70s, 1 male in 80s, 2 males in 90s
-Green County: 1 woman in her 60s
-Knox County: One man from the 70’s
-Lake County: 1 man in the 70’s, 1 man in the 80’s
-Macoupin County: One man from the 70’s
-Madison County: 2 women in their 60s, 1 woman in their 70s, 1 woman in their 80s, 2 women in their 90s, 2 men in their 90s
-Ogle County: One woman in the 90’s
-Peoria County: 1 woman in her 70s, 1 woman in her 80s
-St. Clair County: One man in the 90’s
-Stephenson County: One man in his 60s
-Whiteside County: 2 men in their 60s, 1 woman in their 80s, 1 woman in their 90s
-Will County: 1 woman in her 40s, 1 woman in her 70s
-Williamson County: One man in the 80’s

The Associated Press contributed to this report.