Will-Kankakee Hospitalizations Increase; ICU Availability Falls

WILL COUNTY, IL — As the Will-Kankakee region faces additional mitigations once again, positivity rate in the area has once again gone up for the tenth consecutive day, according to data reported by the Illinois Department of Public Health.

As of Wednesday, Region 7 has a positivity rate of 8.7 percent. Restaurants and bars in the region will be forced to suspend indoor service starting Friday. Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Tuesday that Will and Kankakee counties will face enhanced coronavirus restrictions after positivity rates there surpassed 8 percent for three consecutive days.

Those restrictions include a ban on indoor service at restaurants and bars, as well as a 25-person limit on any gatherings in those four counties, Pritzker said.

Restrictions will be lifted when the region records positivity rates under 6.5 percent for three days in a row, while public health officials will add more restrictions if the regional positivity rate remains above 8 percent for 14 days in a row.

Hospitalizations in the region have also increased for five consecutive days and the availability of medical and ICU beds are at 27 percent and 25 percent respectively. Region 7 is at 79 percent ICU utilization right now, which means it has 37 out of 174 ICUs still available.

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