Colorized scanning electron micrograph of an apoptotic cell (green) heavily infected with the SARS-COV-2 virus particles (purple), isolated from a patient sample. (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH)
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Illinois public health officials on Monday reported 1,246 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 34 additional deaths.
The COVID-19 death toll in the U.S. has topped 500,000, nearly matching the number of Americans killed in World War II, Korea and Vietnam combined.
Officials of the Illinois Department of Public Health said there have been 1.17 million coronavirus cases in the state since the start of the pandemic, including 20,303 deaths. Health officials say the state administered 59,748 vaccine doses Sunday, reaching a total of 2.2 million.
The latest numbers come as the state ramps up efforts to get Illinois residents vaccinated against COVID-19. The health department will be opening two new vaccination sites on Tuesday, one in Rockford in northern Illinois and the other in Collinsville in southern Illinois.
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In addition to the vaccination sites, Governor J.B. Pritzker’s administration announced the activization of additional Illinois National Guard members to support efforts in Winnebago and Madison counties with mobile vaccination sites to reach rural and underserved communities.
As of late Sunday, 1,504 people in Illinois were hospitalized with COVID-19, 337 of them are being treated in intensive care units and 169 on ventilators.