Public health officials announced 12,542 new cases of the coronavirus in Illinois on Tuesday, the highest caseload since statewide restrictions went into effect on Nov. 20.
They also announced 125 more deaths from the virus.
“We’re seeing cases increase because, although so many people are wearing masks and being compliant, there’s still many that aren’t,” she said. “So many people made difficult choices to forgo Thanksgiving in a traditional way and observe virtual Thanksgivings in the hopes of preventing an ICU Christmas, but many did not. ...
“These actions of moving about and mixing up households do allow the virus to spread more quickly, which means there’s more opportunity for more cases,” she said. “The chances that hospitals and health care workers will be overwhelmed could actually be reduced if people would take these actions and be responsible for maintaining them.”
The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Illinois fell slightly Tuesday to 5,835, according to the IDPH. That’s down from the record highs in mid-November but still roughly 1,000 more patients than during the high point of the first wave of the coronavirus in May.
There were 1,195 patients in intensive care Tuesday and 721 using ventilators, according to the state.
There have now been 726,304 COVID-19 cases, including 12,278 deaths, in Illinois, according to the state.
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