ICU Warning Level In Chicago, 37 Counties Could Mean Restrictions

CHICAGO, IL — Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Tuesday that "significantly greater" coronavirus restrictions could return as Chicago and 37 Illinois counties hit ICU bed warning levels — which means capacity of less than 20 percent. Counties including Lake and McHenry were also reporting low ICU bed capacity as coronavirus cases continue to surge.

If things don't improve, restrictions could be put in place, according to the governor.

"If hospitals continue to fill, if hospital beds and ICUs get full like they are in Kentucky ... we’re going to have to impose significantly greater mitigations," Pritzker said.

Nearly 3,000 new coronavirus cases and 15 deaths were reported in Illinois on Tuesday. On Friday, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported 24,682 new confirmed and probable cases of the coronavirus for the week, along with 126 deaths since Aug. 13.

Hospitalizations Spike Among Unvaccinated As IL ICU Beds Dwindle

As of Tuesday, 525 patients with COVID-19 were in intensive care units across Illinois, the highest number since late January, and 248 were on ventilators. In Chicago, 84 percent of ICU beds are full, and 88 percent of ICU beds were full throughout northwest Illinois. In Region 5, or Southern Illinois, 99 percent of ICU beds were occupied, with just a single ICU bed left as of Tuesday.

All Illinois counties except one were categorized as having a high coronavirus transmission rate. Just one county, Carroll, was reporting "substantial" transmission, state health officials said.

As of Tuesday, about 75 percent of Illinois residents age 12 and older had received at least their first vaccine dose.

Also on Tuesday, several hospital systems in Illinois, including Silver Cross, AMITA and Edward-Elmhurst, announced they will require staff to be vaccinated.

Related:

3rd COVID-19 Shot Available To Some Illinoisans: Where To Get It