All counties in Illinois are at a Low Community Level for COVID-19 this week, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH).

This comes after four counties were listed at Medium Community Level last week. No counties were at High Level this week for the seventh straight week, says a Friday release from IDPH.

The state has recorded a total of 4,135,808 COVID cases and 36,850 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois since the beginning of the pandemic. The department is reporting 3,850 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in Illinois in the week ending April 30, and five deaths.

Dr. Sameer Vohra is director of the state public health department.

IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra welcomed the news today that the World Health Organization has declared an end to the global health emergency for COVID-19 that was in place since Jan. 30, 2020. Director Vohra said that with the national and state Public Health Emergencies for COVID -19 expiring on May 11, there will be changes to data collection and reporting on the virus:

  • After May 11, the CDC has announced it will stop tracking and reporting COVID-19 cases at the community level, meaning that it will no longer be providing a weekly updates that show whether COVID-19 cases are at Low, Medium or High Level.
  • Hospitals will no longer be required to report the number of COVID-19 patients in hospital beds or in the ICU or on ventilators.
  • IDPH will continue to report the weekly number of COVID-19 hospital admissions, cases and deaths and weekly vaccination data.
  • Data on COVID-19 and the flu will also continue to be reported via the Illinois Waste Water Surveillance System dashboard.

“We want the public to know that due to changes in federal reporting requirements some of the COVID-19 data that we have been collecting will change after May 11,” Vohra said in Friday’s release. “However, IDPH will still have reliable methods for tracking COVID-19 in Illinois. IDPH will continue its focus on protecting the public from COVID-19, especially those individuals who are vulnerable to serious illness.

End of global emergency

“With the World Health Organization’s news today of the end of the global health emergency, as well as the national public health emergency and statewide disaster declarations ending in less than a week, it is very good news that cases remain low,” the IDPH director said. “All counties in Illinois are now at Low Community Level for COVID-19 and this marks the seventh straight week with zero counties at a high COVID-19 community level.”

FILE - A worker wearing a protective suit swabs a man's throat for a COVID-19 test at a coronavirus testing site in Beijing, on June 22, 2022. The World Health Organization said Friday May 5, 2023 that COVID-19 no longer qualifies as a global emergency, marking a symbolic end to the devastating coronavirus pandemic that triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies and killed millions of people worldwide. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
A worker wearing a protective suit swabs a man’s throat for a COVID-19 test at a coronavirus testing site in Beijing, on June 22, 2022. The World Health Organization said Friday May 5, 2023 that COVID-19 no longer qualifies as a global emergency, marking a symbolic end to the devastating coronavirus pandemic that triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies and killed millions of people worldwide. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

Both IDPH and the Illinois Department on Aging have endorsed recommendations earlier this month by the FDA and CDC for an optional additional updated bivalent vaccine dose for adults 65 and older and optional additional doses for people who are immunocompromised.

The bivalent booster is designed to offer better protection against newer strains of the virus.

On April 19, the CDC recommended a second bivalent booster for those who are 65 and older if it has been at least four months since their first bivalent booster. For those who are immunocompromised, they are eligible for a second bivalent booster if it has been at least two months since their first bivalent booster.

IDPH continues to urge the public to seek treatment quickly if they test positive for COVID-19. Treatment is widely available and IDPH announced recently that SIU Medicine has made it easier to obtain care by offering a new telehealth test to treat service for COVID-19, in partnership with the department.

The service is aimed at providing faster and easier access to treatment for Illinoisans who contract COVID-19. Those who test positive are encouraged to call 217-545-5100 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays to schedule a telehealth appointment to determine if medical treatment is recommended. Appointments will be offered on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Additional options for obtaining tests and treatments can be found at the following test to treat site or by contacting your provider for treatment options, within five days of feeling ill.

Free or low cost COVID-19 testing locations are also available throughout the state,  and can be found on the IDPH website’s testing locator page.