Outdoor dining tables line Rush Street in Chicago as state-imposed restrictions suspending indoor dining and drinking take effect Friday, Oct. 30, 2020. (WTTW News)

For three days in a row, state health officials reported record highs in the number of new COVID-19 cases in Illinois. That streak ended Sunday when the Illinois Department of Public Health reported 6,980 new COVID-19 cases and 35 deaths, including 15 residents of Cook County.

Saturday’s total of 7,899 new cases remains thehighest number of new infections within a 24-hour period in Illinois.

Across the state, 417,280 cases and 9,792 deaths have been reported since the first infection was announced in Illinois in late January. In October alone, more than 117,000 cases were reported, according to an analysis of IDPH data.

State labs processed more than 78,000 tests in the past 24 hours, according to IDPH.

The seven-day statewide positivity rate for cases as a percentage of total tests is now 8%, IDPH reported Sunday. A week ago, that rate was 6.1%, according to IDPH. Test positivity across the state — the number of positive tests as a percentage of total tests — is 9.4%. That rate is slightly higher both in Cook County (9.3%) and Chicago (9%), IDPH regional data shows.

According to the IDPH, “Case positivity and test positivity rate are both relevant and offer insight into the bigger COVID-19 picture. Case positivity helps us understand whether changes in the number of confirmed cases is due to more testing or due to more infections. Whereas, test positivity accounts for repeated testing and helps us understand how the virus is spreading in the population over time.”

On Friday, tightened mitigation measures took effect in Chicago, where bars and restaurants must close by 11 p.m. and can no longer serve patrons indoors.

Illinois Restaurant Association President and CEO Sam Toia said Friday his organization would back operators around the state who had filed lawsuits challenging those restrictions in regions where COVID-19 is spiking.

A map of Illinois’ 11 regions. (Click to see full COVID-19 mitigation plan released by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.)

By Wednesday, every one of the state’s 11 regions will be operating under mitigation restrictions designed to curb the spread of COVID-19. Mitigations will go into effect in region 6 (East-Central Illinois) beginning Monday, and in region 2 (North-Central Illinois) on Wednesday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Sunday on Twitter.

COVID-19 Cases in Illinois

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