Illinois’ overall respiratory illness level has jumped from “moderate” to “high,” according to the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH).
An IDPH dashboard tracks seasonal respiratory illness and indicates that over 21% of emergency visits were for acute respiratory illness the week of Dec. 28. In the previous week, 17% of emergency visits were for acute respiratory illness.

Several hospitals have already put restrictions in place for visitors.

Emergency visits for the flu also increased to 6.2%, up from 3%, and visits for COVID-19 were at 2% up from 1.5%.

Because of the increased number of respiratory illnesses, the IDPH has issued a health alert to hospitals, recommending that they keep an eye on local conditions and take steps to prevent seasonal illnesses, such as visitor restrictions and masking up.

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