Over 550 ICU Beds In Use In W, SW Suburbs Amid Coronavirus Crisis

This story was updated at 2:14 p.m., April 8, to correct of misstatement of the number of ICU beds and ventilators available across Illinois.

CHICAGO SUBURBS, IL — The Illinois Department of Public Health and the Governor's Office released statewide figures on Wednesday showing 1,760 hospital ICU beds were occupied and 1,198 ventilators were being used throughout the state. Roughly half of both the ICU beds and the ventilators were being utilized for coronavirus patients. As the state's number of confirmed coronavirus cases continues to grow, only about a third of the state's total 2,709 ICU beds and slightly more than half of the state's 2,791 ventilators remain available.

In the west and southwest Chicago suburbs, the same offices reported that over 550 ICU beds were currently in use across area hospitals from Bolingbrook to Glendale Heights. This leaves slightly less than a quarter of the area's 730 ICU beds — 177 total — still open for new patients. The report did not specify how many of the 553 total occupied beds were being used by coronavirus patients and how many were occupied by patients with other illnesses.

The report did say that the state government is seeking to acquire 3,620 new ventilators. Illinois has thus far received 450 ventilators from the federal government, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently lent Illinois an additional 100 ventilators as part of the interstate mutual aid program known as the Emergency Management Assistance Compact.

As of April 8, there were 13,553 confirmed coronavirus cases in Illinois.

To help slow the spread of the virus, state authorities along with the CDC continue to urge Illinois residents to stay at home and avoid all social gatherings, and to practice social distancing when in public. Additionally, residents are urged to wear a face mask when in public areas where social distancing is difficult, such as grocery stores, and to wash hands and sanitize high-use surfaces regularly.

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