Crime & Safety

50 Percent Increase In People Tested for COVID-19 In Past 6 Days

The Chicago area continues to see more coronavirus cases and deaths. Find out how many cases and deaths have been reported in your county.

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ACROSS ILLINOIS — Health officials say increased testing capacity is necessary to provide them with a better idea of the total percentage of the population that has been sickened and died from the new coronavirus across the state. To date, 333,147 coronavirus tests have been administered in Illinois, which amounts to a 51 percent increase over the past six days.

The state has ramped up its testing capability in recent weeks, and on Sunday, the highest number of people yet were given coronavirus tests over a 24-hour period in Illinois: 19,417.

Illinois Coronavirus Update May 5: 63,840 Cases, 2,662 Deaths — Add to articles: Don't miss updates about precautions in the Chicago area as they are announced. Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters.

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Statewide, the number of people testing positive for the virus has jumped 21 percent since April 29, according to Illinois Department of Public Health data. Deaths have jumped by 17 percent. Kane County has seen the highest increase in new cases among Chicago-area counties in the past six days, with a 33 percent increase, while DuPage County has seen the highest jump in deaths, a 27.6 increase.

In the city of Chicago, 3.81 percent of the population has taken a coronavirus test, the highest in the state. There have been 25,805 positive coronavirus cases reported in Chicago, which accounts for 40.4 percent of the total coronavirus cases as of Monday across the state. In suburban Cook County, 3.41 percent of the population has been tested. To date, 17,910 have tested positive, according to health department data — 28 percent of the total virus cases throughout Illinois.

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So far, 0.95 percent of the population in Chicago has tested positive for the virus and 0.04 percent have died. That number is even lower in other Chicago-area counties with a high number of cases, including Lake County, where 0.02 percent of the population have died from the virus and 0.59 percent have tested positive for the virus.

Though those numbers may seem low, state health officials say there is likely a large portion of the population who has contracted the virus in recent months and has never been tested, so it's hard to have a clear picture of how many have been sickened by the virus to date.

Here is a look at a county-by- county comparison of current cases and deaths and how much numbers have increased since April 29:

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UPDATED ON APRIL 29, 2020

In the past week, the number of people who've died from the new coronavirus in Illinois has increased by 42 percent. On April 22, the total number of deaths was 1,565. A week later, the total number of people who have died from the virus hit 2,215.

Meanwhile, the total number of positive coronavirus cases hit 50,355 on Wednesday, which marks a 43 percent increase in people testing positive for the virus compared to a week earlier.

The jump in positive cases is likely due to the number of tests being administered. To date, 164,346 people have been tested across the state for the coronavirus.

There were 2,253 new cases reported across the state on Wednesday and 90 new deaths. The majority of cases, and deaths, are cropping up mainly in Cook County, while Lake County follows in the Chicago area with 3,382 total positive cases and 128 deaths as of Wednesday.

DuPage and Will counties also have seen a high number of cases and death. In DuPage, 2,870 people have tested positive for the virus and 142 have died. In Will, 2,369 people have the virus and there have been 148 deaths.

Nursing homes and their residents continue to be among the congregate setting hardest hit by the fast-spreading virus. As of Wednesday, 65 percent of those who died of coronavirus in Lake County were long-term care facility residents.

Some nursing homes, like Three Crowns Park in Evanston, recently announced that all of its staff members have been tested for the virus following an outbreak at their facility. There have been six deaths among Three Crowns Park residents. The facility also tested all of its residents.

"We have finally been authorized to provide coronavirus testing at Three Crowns Park. Until this week, testing was extremely limited and offered only to those clearly already symptomatic or exposed. Testing is critically important to protecting our residents," said Phil Hemmer, executive director of Three Crowns Park.

Workers caring for sick residents at some of the long-term care facilities hardest hit by the virus served notice of their intent to strike, claiming that the owners of their facilities have ignored their pleas for personal protection equipment, an 11-percent pay raise and hazard pay. Unless the workers' demands are met, they'll walk on May 8.

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The above information was updated on April 29, 2020.

UPDATED ON APRIL 28, 2020

Here is a look at the total number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the Chicago area as of 5 p.m. on April 28:

The above information was updated on April 28.

UPDATED ON APRIL 27

On Monday, 1,980 additional people tested positive for the new coronavirus in the past 24 hours. In addition, 50 new deaths have been reported.

Here is a look at how many new cases and deaths have been reported in counties across the Chicago area in the past 24 hours:

UPDATED ON APRIL 26

On Sunday, Pritzker announced that 2,126 more people have tested positive for the new coronavirus in the past 24 hours and there have been 59 additional deaths. To date, 1,933 people have died due to the coronavirus in the state and 43,903 have tested positive for the virus.

Here is a look at a county-by-county breakdown regarding the number of positive cases and coronavirus deaths as of April 26, 2020.

The Illinois Department of Public Health updates its website every afternoon with the latest data and number of coronavirus cases and deaths across the state. The IDPH website also provides information on the number of people tested, positive cases and deaths in each zip code in the state. The reported zip codes note the residence of the person, which may not be location of exposure, according to IDPH.

UPDATED ON APRIL 24

Friday saw the highest jump in positive coronavirus cases over a 24-hour period in Illinois to date — likely due to the fact that testing capability increased substantially over the past day. Statewide, there were 2,724 more people who tested positive for the virus and 108 more deaths.

Here is a look at a county-by-county breakdown regarding the number of positive cases and coronavirus deaths as of April 24, 2020.

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UPDATED ON APRIL 23

Here is a look at a county-by-county breakdown regarding the number of positive cases and coronavirus deaths to date:

As of Wednesday night, Cook County had the seventh highest number of deaths and positive cases compared to all other counties across the United States, according to data updated daily by John Hopkins University & Medicine.

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Among "congregate settings" hardest-hit by COVID-19 in the Chicago areea is the Cook County Jail. In recent days, two additional inmates have died from coronavirus. To date, six inmates and one correctional officer has died as a result of the virus.

The Illinois Department of Public Health updates its website every afternoon with the latest data and number of coronavirus cases and deaths across the state. The IDPH website also provides information on the number of people tested, positive cases and deaths in each zip code in the state. The reported zip codes note the residence of the person, which may not be location of exposure, according to IDPH.

Nationally, more than 856,209 Americans have caught the virus, and more than 47,272 have died from it, as of Thursday afternoon.

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