Illinois health officials report 6,642 more COVID-19 cases, 123 more deaths
Colorized scanning electron micrograph of a cell (blue) heavily infected with SARS-CoV-2 virus particles (red), isolated from a patient sample. Image captured at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland. (IMAGE POINT FR/NIH/NIAID/BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images / Getty Images)
CHICAGO - Illinois health officials Friday announced 6,642 new cases of coronavirus, including the state’s first reported case of a new more contagious strain first identified in the United Kingdom.
The new strain was first reported in the U.S two weeks ago and has already been identified in a number of other states. The person who tested positive in Illinois has traveled to the UK and the Middle East in the two weeks prior to testing positive, according to the Chicago Department of Public Health.
The new positive cases were among 107,156 tests sent to the Illinois Department of Public Health over the past 24 hours, lowering the state’s test positivity rate to 6.5% from 6.8%.
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The state also reported 123 additional deaths.
The total number of coronavirus cases now stands at 1,059,324 since the start of the pandemic, health officials said. At least 18,049 people in Illinois have died from the virus.
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As of Thursday night, 726,475 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been delivered to providers in Illinois, plus an additional 268,525 doses allocated to the federal government’s Pharmacy Partnership Program for long-term care facilities. This brings the state’s total doses to 995,000.
At least 447,348 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered so far in Illinois, including 56,624 for long-term care facilities officials said.