COVID-19 Weekend Update with Jeff: 12/11-12/13

By Jeffrey Softcheck, MBA and Sandra Folarin

As of Saturday, December 12th, 126,388 tests were logged, which was an all-time high. This number included 105,319 molecular tests (83.0%), 13,646 antigen tests (10.8%), and 7,923 UIUC Molecular Saliva tests (6.2%). There were 8,737 newly confirmed or probable cases for a daily case positivity rate of 6.89%. This is the lowest the rate has been since the state posted a 6.44% rate on October 27th. Perhaps we may continue to see a downward trend if people continue to act responsibly over the holidays.

Taking a closer look, the under 20 age cohort continues to show the highest case positivity rate. In mid-November, school-age cases made up 19.3% of confirmed total cases that week. Currently, the latest batch of data published for this cohort is the week of 12/5, which reports 11,619 new cases in this group, or 17.3% of the overall cases that week. The 18-22 year old age cohort accounts for over 45% of the cases that week, with the 12-17 year old age cohort at 32.9% and the 5-11 year old age cohort at 21.7%.

On the ICU side, available bed capacity remains low, and certainly too low to withstand a surge due to the holidays.

Your commitment to keeping each other safe is paying off. Continue to stay safe, stay vigilant, and stay masked.