The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced today the state will be delaying the start of their ‘Bridge Phase’ because of rising COVID-19 hospitalizations statewide.
Rising Cases
According to IDPH, 1,396 individuals were in the hospital with COVID-19 as of last night.
“The number of people being admitted to the hospital in Illinois due to COVID-19 continues to increase. As long as new hospital admissions continue to increase, the state will not advance to the Bridge Phase and on to Phase 5 of the Restore Illinois Plan. The number of cases of COVID-19 has seen an increasing trend as well,” said a press release.
A couple of weeks ago on March 12 IDPH data shows on average 1,082 patients were being treated for COVID-19. Their data show an uptick of cases after that date.
Local Data
Locally Edward Hospital is also seeing an increase of COVID-19 cases. Last week, March 23, the hospital reported it was treating seven confirmed cases of COVID-19. Today that number has more than doubled to 17 COVID-19 patients at Edward.
“Health officials continue to urge all residents to continue to mask up, socially distance, and avoid crowds to reduce transmission and bring the metrics back in line to transition to the Bridge Phase,” said a press release.
Bridge Phase
The Bridge Phase is a pathway toward the fifth and final phase of the Restore Illinois reopening plan. It will allow for less restrictive policies.
“Once 70% of residents 65 and older have been vaccinated and barring any reversals in our COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths for a 28-day monitoring period, the Bridge to Phase 5 will begin with increased capacity limits in both indoor and outdoor settings. Once 50% of residents 16 and older have been vaccinated and stable or declining COVID-19 metrics are recorded during a 28-day monitoring period, Phase 5 will be implemented, removing capacity limits altogether” says IDPH.
For more information on the Bridge Phase and COVID-19 you can visit the Illinois Department of Public Health’s website.
Naperville News 17’s Christian Canizal reports.
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