After Thanksgiving, Illinois Sees Highest Single-Day COVID Case Total Since Summer – NBC Chicago
Amid concerns that a spike in COVID cases could occur after the Thanksgiving holiday, Illinois officials reported their highest single-day total since the summer.
According to metrics from the Illinois Department of Public Health, the state reported 5,724 cases of the virus on Wednesday, the highest number of cases reported in a single day since Aug. 11.
Tuesday also saw a dramatic increase in cases over the previous days, with 2,536 cases reported.
The increase in cases has caused the state’s daily average to climb upward, now sitting at 2,368 cases per day. That is the highest level the state has seen since Sept. 23, according to IDPH data.
A total of 33 deaths have been attributed to the virus in the last two days, with the state now averaging seven COVID deaths per day.
The increase in cases comes nearly a week after the Thanksgiving holiday, with experts warning that increases were possible due to family gatherings and travel for the season.
Five different counties in Illinois are currently at “high levels” of COVID transmission, with the CDC recommending that residents wear masks indoors in those locations. That list includes Adams, Knox, Pike and Scott counties in western Illinois.
Around the Chicago area, most counties are at a “medium level” of transmission, including Cook, DuPage and Lake counties. Will, Kendall and Kane counties remain at a “low level” of transmission.
Nationwide, cases are also slowly starting to increase as winter nears. According to the CDC, there were 305,000 cases of COVID reported in the week ending on Nov. 23, with new data expected in coming days to reflect increases after the holiday.
Cases spiked dramatically leading into and following the holidays in 2021 as the omicron variant made an impact for the first time in the U.S. At the height of the surge, more than 5.6 million cases were reported in a single week nationwide, and Illinois averaged more than 32,000 cases per day, the most it has seen during the pandemic.
