Another 138 people have died from COVID-19 in Illinois, with total fatalities in the state now standing at 3,111.
And Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration on Thursday warned the state is in a death plateau that could last “awhile.” A Pritzker spokeswoman did not provide further details on just how long that could last.
Projections released by the governor’s office two weeks ago showed a range of 50 to 150 deaths a day into “early May.”
The state has seen 12 days in which more than 100 people died from COVID-19, mostly in the last few weeks.
The state also reported 2,641 newly confirmed coronavirus cases, bringing the statewide total to 70,873. The state received 17,783 test results on Wednesday and has administered more than 379,000 tests since the pandemic began.
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The state is at a 14.85% positivity rate of tests returned.
The number of COVID-19 patients in the ICU went up by 22 from Tuesday to Wednesday, while ventilator use by coronavirus patients declined by 14. The number of COVID-19 patients in total went up by 30 in that same timeframe, according to the governor’s office.
In Chicago, there are 17% of ICU beds still available. In Chicago, Cook and the collar counties, the positivity rate is hovering around 20%,
Pritzker on Thursday planned to talk about the state’s unemployment numbers. The Illinois Department of Employment Security said it has processed more than a million claims since the beginning of the pandemic
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