The Illinois Department of Public Health 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. The agency’s Seasonal Respiratory Illness Dashboard indicates that emergency department visits for acute respiratory illness topped 21% in the week ending December 28, up from 17% the previous week. IDPH has recorded four pediatric deaths this season from flu, COVID-19 and RSV.

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