January 12, 2024 – The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced that in line with the national trend, the state’s overall respiratory illness level has ticked up from Moderate to High, driven by an expected early winter jump in hospital admissions.
IDPH’s Seasonal Respiratory Illness Dashboard indicates that emergency department (ED) visits for Acute Respiratory Illness topped 21% in the week ending December 28, up from 17% the previous week. During the same period, the number of ED visits for flu more than doubled to 6.2% from 3% while ED visits for COVID-19 were at 2%, up from 1.5%.
With respiratory illnesses on the upswing last month, IDPH issued a health alert to hospitals and healthcare facilities recommending that they take note of local conditions and consider targeted steps to mitigate the circulation of seasonal illnesses. These could include visitor restrictions and source control through measures like masking…