Illinois COVID-19 Update
May 15, 2020
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 2,432 new COVID-19 cases and 130 deaths. The total number of cases in the state is 90,396 in 99 counties, with a total of 3,928 deaths. IDPH says that in the past 24 hours, 26,565 specimens have been processed. Statewide COVID-19 hospitalizations in the past 24 decreased from 4,473 patients to 4,367 patients. Of that figure, 1,129 patients are in ICU with 675 patients on ventilators. The statewide seven-day rolling COVID-19 positivity rate is 16%.
At today’s daily briefing, Gov. Pritzker said that while the positivity rates continue to decline, it is important to continue following the stay-at-order in order to move into phase 3 of reopening the state. The Governor also announced three new drive-thru testing sites scheduled in the coming days: one in Chicago’s Chatham area, Champaign and Rolling Meadows, and drive-thru and walk-up services in Peoria.
IDPH released updated COVID-19 testing guidance yesterday, noting that the state runs seven community-based testing sites. The guidance says that the following people can be tested for COVID-19, regardless if they are experiencing symptoms or not:
Healthcare workers;
Correctional facility workers;
Government employees;
First Responders; and
Essential workers.
The Illinois College of Emergency Physicians has a recording available of its May 13 Healthcare Disparities and the COVID-19 Pandemic webinar. The webinar discusses healthcare challenges in communities, differences in impact on different ethnicities and challenges for hospitals without advanced specialty resources.