The number of active COVID-19 cases in the Tri-County is down to itslowest since mid-March, with the region close to having 38% of residents fully vaccinated.
Tri-County health officials on Thursday reported 59 patients with COVID-19 at Peoria-area hospitals, with another 452 area residents isolating at home.
The 511 active cases are the fewest since March 15, when there were 378. The current 15 patients in intensive care units is the lowest number since March 31.
The region added two more deaths linked to COVID-19 and 38 new cases in the past day, bringing the area totals since the start of the pandemic to 45,201 infections and 720 fatalities. The latest victims are a Peoria County man in his 30s and a Tazewell County man in his 80s; 21 area residents have succumbed to COVID-19 in the past week.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) reported 1,542 new cases and 42 deaths across the state since Wednesday, increasing the counts since last March to 1.37 million illnesses and 22,536 fatalities. Hospitals statewide are treating about 1,500 patients with coronavirus infections, while the seven-day preliminary positivity rate is at 2.7%.
Meanwhile, IDPH vaccination figures show Peoria, Tazewell, and Woodford counties with a total of 133,246 fully dosed residents, or 37.9% of the region's population. The three counties added 6,895 fully vaccinated individuals over the past seven days, with 9,359 total shots administered during that span.
Illinois as a whole has recorded 10.6 million injections, and just over 38.7% of the state's population is fully vaccinated. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 64% of Illinois residents have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine shot.
