Evanston saw a drop in COVID-19 cases over the Christmas Holiday, health officials reported Monday, with daily case numbers falling dramatically from the levels reached last week.

A surge in testing ahead of holiday travel may have accounted for in part for the increase in case numbers last week — although updated figures on tests over the holiday weekend were not available from the Health Department Monday.

Statewide cases have also declined after peaking on Dec. 24, one day later than the peak in Evanston.

But case levels are still dramatically higher than they had been only a couple of weeks ago. Evanston’s seven-day rolling average of cases now stands at 91.7, more than three times the 28.1 level it was at just two weeks ago.

At a news conferences today, Dr. Ngozi Ezike, the state’s health director, said that in the vast majority of cases “hospitalizations and deaths are among those who are not vaccinated.”

Getting vaccinated is the most important thing people should do to protect themselves and others, Ezike said.

Here are charts showing the COVID case numbers from Evanston’s two school districts as of the last day of school before the holiday break.

Since it’s been on break, Northwestern University hasn’t updated its COVID figures since Dec. 16.

Bill Smith is the editor and publisher of Evanston Now.