COVID-19 community levels on the decline across Illinois

CHICAGO, Ill. (WIFR) - The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced today that the Centers for Disease Control is reporting 28 counties in the state seeing an elevated level for COVID-19, compared to 61 counties last week.

“I am encouraged to see COVID-19 community levels continuing to decrease across Illinois,” said IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra.

IDPH reported 10,967 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 the week of January 15, along with 78 deaths.

“Rates of the XBB ‘Kraken’ variant, spreading throughout the East Coast, are slowly increasing in the Midwest, and we continue to monitor this new variant closely,” said Vohra. “However, we are fortunate at this time to see no increase in hospitalizations.”

Access to tests and treatments can be found at the following test-to-treat site or by contacting your provider for treatment options, within 5 days of feeling ill.

Nearly 26 million vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of Friday.