Illinois Coronavirus Update Sept. 2: 238,643 Cases, 8,091 Deaths

ILLINOIS — State health officials on Wednesday announced 2,128 new cases of the coronavirus and 27 additional deaths from COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the virus, bringing the statewide totals to 238,643 confirmed infections and 8,091 known deaths. Another 1,702 probable cases and 209 probable deaths are not included in the official totals.

The latest deaths include:

• Adams County: 1 male 80s
• Christian County: 1 female 90s
• Cook County: 1 male 50s, 1 female 70s, 3 males 70s, 1 female 80s, 2 males 80s
• Crawford County: 1 male 70s
• DuPage County: 1 male 60s, 2 males 80s
• Ford County: 1 male 70s
• Jefferson County: 1 female 80s
• Kane County: 1 female 80s
• Lake County: 1 male 70s
• LaSalle County: 1 female 60s, 1 female 90s
• Macoupin County: 1 female 80s
• Montgomery County: 1 male 90s
• Perry County: 1 female 80s
• Rock Island County: 1 female 90s
• St. Clair County: 2 females 80s
• Williamson County: 1 female 90s

New restrictions went into effect Wednesday for Region 4, the St. Louis Metro East. Health officials said the positivity rate there has only increased since initial restrictions were placed on the region two weeks ago. It currently stands at 9.6 percent, well above the 8 percent threshold officials have said would trigger new restrictions.

New mitigation measures include the suspension of all indoor service at bars and restaurants and limits to meetings, social gatherings, weddings and funerals of 25 guests or 25 percent capacity, whichever is lower.

Officials said the state health department will continue to track positivity rates and other statistics to determine if restrictions will be relaxed or tightened. If the positivity rate decreases to less than 6.5 percent over the next two weeks, the region will return to Phase 4 of the governor's reopening plan. If it remains the same or increases, more stringent mitigations will be applied, officials warned.

As of Wednesday, 1,596 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 across the state, including 347 in intensive care and 142 on ventilators, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Thirty Illinois counties remain at a "warning level" for a surge in infections, including Bureau, Carroll, Cass, Clinton, Cook, Cumberland, Effingham, Fayette, Greene, Grundy, Henderson, Henry, Jasper, Jersey, Jo Daviess, Johnson, Madison, Monroe, Morgan, Perry, Pike, Randolph, Sangamon, Shelby, St. Clair, Union, Warren, White, Will, and Williamson.

See how your region is doing here.

"Public health officials are observing people not social distancing, gathering in large groups, and not using face coverings," according to a news release. "In some counties, local law enforcement and states’ attorneys are not enforcing important mitigation measures like social distancing and the wearing of face coverings."

The statewide positive-test rate is 4.5 percent. The number is a rolling, seven-day average and represents an increase of almost half a percentage point from Monday. In the past 24 hours, labs in Illinois have processed 32,751 coronavirus tests, for a total of more than 4.1 million since the pandemic began. According to Johns Hopkins University, a positivity rate of less than 5 percent is a good measure of whether enough tests are being conducted, and state officials have said a rate higher than 8 percent will trigger new restrictions in a given region.

Health officials say a slowdown in data processing has led to a backlog of tests. "All available resources are being deployed to improve our data systems throughput and we anticipate improvement in data processing as the week proceeds," according to a news release. "Although the slowdown has delayed the reporting of some additional aggregate numbers, this has not affected the reporting of positive or negative results to individuals in any way."

The United States now has more than 6 million confirmed coronavirus infections, and at least 184,803 Americans have died from COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Based on the latest predictions by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 196,000 to 207,000 Americans could be dead from the disease by Sept. 19.

Globally, more than 25.8 million people have been infected and 858,436 are known to have died.

Illinois Coronavirus Helpline:

Illinois officials say a state helpline has been set up to provide emotional support and quick answers to questions about the coronavirus pandemic. Illinoisans can test "TALK" to 55-2020 (or "HABLAR" for Spanish), and within 24 hours they will receive a call from a counselor. Residents can also text keywords such as "UNEMPLOYMENT," "FOOD" or "SHELTER," to the same number to receive additional information about those topics.

Here's what's happening with the coronavirus in Illinois:

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Kane-DuPage Region's Coronavirus Positivity Rate Rises To 5.7%

While the two-county region's COVID-19 positivity rate was up, its new hospitalizations declined, according to state health officials.

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Coronavirus by the numbers:

Illinois:

• Total number of coronavirus cases: 238,643
• Deaths: 8,091
• People tested: 4,119,873
• Recovered: Illinois does not provide exact numbers of recovered cases, but says the recovery rate is 95 percent.

Nationwide:

• Total number of coronavirus cases: 6,088,187
• Deaths: 184,803
• People tested: 78,292,321
• Recovered: 2,202,663

Global:

• Total number of coronavirus cases: 25,836,032
• Deaths: 858,436
• People tested: No data available
• Recovered: 17,125,145

Sources: Johns Hopkins University and IDPH

Tips from the CDC on dealing with coronavirus:

While the best way to prevent illness is to avoid virus exposure, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention generally recommends taking these actions to prevent the spread of viruses:

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
• Stay home when you are sick.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipes.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom, before eating, and after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing.

What to do if you're sick:

Call head if you're planning to visit your doctor:

• If you have a medical appointment, call the health care provider and tell them that you have or may have COVID-19. This will help the health care provider's office take steps to keep other people from getting infected or exposed.

Stay home unless you must see a doctor:

• Stay home: People who are mildly ill with COVID-19 are able to isolate at home during their illness. You should restrict activities outside your home, except for getting medical care.
• Avoid public areas: Do not go to work, school, or public areas.
• Avoid public transportation: Avoid using public transportation, ride-sharing or taxis.

Separate yourself from other people and animals in your home:

• Stay away from others: As much as possible, you should stay in a specific room and away from other people in your home. Also, you should use a separate bathroom, if available.
• Limit contact with pets and animals: You should restrict contact with pets and other animals while you are sick with COVID-19, just as you would around other people. Although there have not been reports of pets or other animals becoming sick with COVID-19, it is still recommended that people sick with COVID-19 limit contact with animals until more information is known about the virus.
• When possible, have another member of your household care for your animals while you are sick. If you are sick with COVID-19, avoid contact with your pet, including petting, snuggling, being kissed or licked and sharing food. If you must care for your pet or be around animals while you are sick, wash your hands before and after you interact with pets and wear a face mask. See COVID-19 and Animals for more information.

Avoid sharing personal household items:

• Do not share: You should not share dishes, drinking glasses, cups, eating utensils, towels, or bedding with other people or pets in your home.
• Wash thoroughly after use: After using these items, they should be washed thoroughly with soap and water.

Masks:

• CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies), especially in areas of significant community-based transmission. CDC also advises the use of simple cloth face coverings to slow the spread of the virus and help people who may have the virus and do not know it from transmitting it to others. Cloth face coverings fashioned from household items or made at home from common materials at low cost can be used as an additional, voluntary public health measure.
• Cloth face coverings should not be placed on young children under age 2, anyone who has trouble breathing, or is unconscious, incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance.
• The cloth face coverings recommended are not surgical masks or N-95 respirators. Those are critical supplies that must continue to be reserved for healthcare workers and other medical first responders, as recommended by current CDC guidance.
• Face mask instructions — sew- and no-sew masks

To donate personal protective equipment (PPE), email PPE.donations@illinois.gov. For health questions about COVID-19, call the state coronavirus hotline at 800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.