Chicago's top doctor said Tuesday she's pleased with the city's current position with COVID-19.(Health News Illinois]

Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said that cases are increasing at a gradual level, but local hospitals and providers still have plenty of capacity. Severe illnesses and deaths remain near pandemic lows.

“COVID is not gone, – and may never be gone – but I remain pleased with Chicago’s current position at this stage of the pandemic,” she said.

The seven-day average for new daily cases in Chicago is 616, up 26 percent from the prior week. The city is averaging 12 daily COVID-related hospitalizations, the same as the prior week.

Statewide, hospitalizations and cases continue their increase.

As of Monday, 708 Illinoisans were in the hospital with COVID-19, up 20 from Sunday and up 142 from the prior week.

Of the patients in the hospital, 94 were in intensive care units, up 17 from Sunday and up 21 from the prior week. Twenty-four percent of Illinois’ ICU beds were available, up 1 percentage point from the prior week.

There were 33 patients on ventilators, up 10 from Sunday and down three from the prior week.

Four Illinois counties, Champaign, DuPage, McLean and Piatt, are rated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as having a “medium” risk of community spread.

The state Department of Public Health reported 2,509 new COVID-19 cases and three deaths on Tuesday. The new cases bring the state total to 3,124,700, while the death toll is 33,584.

The seven-day average for new cases on Tuesday was 3,141, up 849 from the prior week. The seven-day average for daily deaths is seven, the same as the prior week.

The seven-day case rate per 100,000 people is 24.7, up 6.7 from the prior week.

About 81.3 percent of eligible Illinoisans ages 5 and older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 72.9 percent are fully vaccinated.

Illinois vaccinators have administered 21,812,955 COVID-19 vaccines, including 4,375,365 booster doses. The seven-day average for doses administered is 16,728.

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