SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The number of new COVID-19 cases in Illinois is once again higher than the week before.
The Illinois Department of Public Health says 23,334 cases were added to the rolls in the last week, more than 2,000 higher than the week before.
What’s more, the number of Illinois counties with elevated levels of COVID transmission has also gone up — from 74, to 86. Peoria and Tazewell Counties are still at high levels of transmission, and Woodford County is at medium.
“Illinois continues to see a dramatic rise in communities at elevated risk levels for COVID-19, including 43 counties that are now at a high risk,” said IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra, in a news release. “As we prepare for holiday gatherings with our loved ones, I want to remind Illinoisians that these elevated COVID-19 community levels, along with rising flu levels, are leading to a surge of respiratory infections, increased hospitalizations and limited hospital beds.
The state is again urging residents to get the most recent bivalent COVID-19 vaccine booster.
They say the CDC just expanded the authorization to include children aged six months to five years.
