Evanston health officials reported two dozen new COVID-19 cases in the city today, down from 37 yesterday. The city’s coronavirus death toll has remained unchanged for over four weeks at 114.
Some portion of the surge in cases in Evanston this week is attributable to the return of Northwestern University students from last week’s spring break. The school today reported 75 positive cases for the seven-day period ending March 31, compared to 16 cases reported for the week ending March 25. Only NU students and workers who live in Evanston are part of the city’s case count.
With Evanston elementary schools and Evanston Township High School on spring break this week, there’s a risk of an additional surge next week as families return from vacations.
Statewide there were 3,526 new cases, compared to 2,592 yesterday.
The Illinois Department of Public Health today reported that 109,073 people were vaccinated yesterday, down substantially from the day before. But the seven day average is up from a week ago.
A total of 5.92 million vaccine doses had been administered as of yesterday, about 77% of the total 7.54 million doses distributed to the state by the federal government. The IDPH says 17.3% of the state’s population is now fully vaccinated.
Reported COVID-19 deaths in Illinois declined yesterday. The seven day average is up slightly from a week ago.
The number of COVID-19 tests reported increased today, and the seven-day test average is a bit higher than a week ago.
The IDPH reported tests of 1,384 Evanston residents today, compared to 889 yesterday. The IDPH found 59 positive cases here for a daily positive rate of 4.3%. The seven-day positive rate here is more than double what it was from a week ago.
The state now says Evanston has had a total of 4,426 cases. The city’s tally is 4,213.
COVID-19 deaths reported in Cook County since yesterday include a woman in her 40s, a man in his 50s, a man in his 60s a woman in her 70s, a man in his 80s and two women and one man in their 90s.
As of last night, 1,411 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 304 patients were in the ICU and 121 of those were on ventilators.