IDPH Will No Longer Track Daily COVID-19 Cases, Test Positivity Rates

SPRINGFIELD, IL — For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began more than two years ago, the Illinois Department of Public Health will stop tracking daily positive cases around the state and test positivity rates.

The agency recently announced that it will shift its metrics in how it tracks the coronavirus pandemic more than six weeks after Gov. JB Pritzker lifted the state’s mask mandate and the City of Chicago stopped requiring residents to wear masks in most indoor settings and showing proof of vaccination.

The health department said it is shifting its reporting practices in line with those of the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention. Instead of tracking daily caseloads and statewide testing positivity rates, IDPH said it will show the percentage of Illinois residents who have been vaccinated along with statewide COVID-19 hospitalizations and the vaccination status of those who are hospitalized because of the virus.

“Test and case positivity rates were seen as a good way to monitor the level of community spread early in the pandemic,” IDPH Acting Director Amaal Tokars said in a statement released by the agency. “At this stage, now that we have vaccines and effective therapies available, it is more useful to rely on data that indicates the case rate, disease severity, and the level of strain on the healthcare system to guide our public health recommendations.”

Health officials said that they have determined that statewide testing data is less accurate than it once was because of the uptick in people using home tests to determine if they have tested positive.

State health officials along with those from the City of Chicago have reported a slight increase in positive cases since COVID-19 restrictions have been loosened. The rates are still well below those from earlier this year, when the omicron variant took hold across Illinois.

State officials said that they will continue to monitor which areas of the state are reporting high levels of COVID-19 cases, and will also provide information on the number of positive cases per 100,000 residents on a weekly basis. The department will also issue data on a weekly basis for hospitalizations per 100,000 residents, as well as the percentage of beds being used for COVID-19 patients.

As of last week, only four Illinois counties – Gallatin, Hardin, Pope, and Saline – were reporting high concentrations of new COVID-19 cases. The remainder of the state was showing low positivity rates of the virus, officials said.

As cases rise in Illinois and other places, IDPH said it is not currently discussing new COVID-19 restrictions and mandates, according to a Shaw Media report.

In other states, mask mandates and other restricts could soon make a comeback. On Monday, officials announced a mask mandate will return in Philadelphia.

As of Wednesday, IDPH was reporting 522 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Illinois, with 75 of those patients in the ICU and 25 patients with COVID-19 on ventilators. Statewide, 2 percent of all hospital beds in use were occupied people COVID-19 patients.