Wednesday’s coronavirus updates: ‘We have the B117 variant in our community. It is more infectious, and it is causing more serious illness in younger…

Another reminder that the pandemic isn't over arrived Wednesday, when Champaign County saw its active case count rise by 34, the UI campus reported a second straight day of 22 positive tests and Carle Urbana checked in another new COVID patient.

"We have to stay the course, because we are not out of this yet," C-U Public Health Administrator Julie Pryde said Wednesday night. "While we have vaccinations, and are getting them out as fast as possible, we still only have about 28 percent of our county fully vaccinated. That is how many are protected; everyone else is susceptible to infection.

"We have the B117 variant in our community. It is more infectious, and it is causing more serious illness in younger individuals. Everyone needs to continue the tough work of masking and distancing. It is also important to get the first vaccine that you have access to."

Of 8,173 new tests, 49 came back positive Wednesday in Champaign County, bringing its pandemic total to 18,978.

Active cases increased by 34, to 323, while hospitalizations rose by two, to 12.

Active close contacts in quarantine now total 482, up by 24 overnight.

Heres an updated rundown of county ZIP codes with active cases, according to health district data:

Here's a breakdown of Champaign County positive tests by age group over the course of the pandemic:

Here's a breakdown of COVID deaths by age group over the course of the pandemic:

The countys pandemic totals, according to the health district:

As new case totals ticked upwards statewide, only two of the area's eight counties saw their seven-day positivity rates decrease Wednesday Champaign and Iroquois:

Note: Champaign County's rate, as calculated by the Illinois Department of Public Health, excludes the UI's daily saliva testing. The county's rate if UI testing were included: 0.6 percent, unchanged overnight.

Twenty-two cases emerged from 8,688 tests Tuesday on the UI campus, according to data updated Wednesday.

That makes back-to-back 22-case days, tying for the second-highest day of March. Only on March 8, when the campus reported 23 new cases, was higher.

The campus' seven-day positivity rate rose slightly, from 0.12 to 0.15 percent. The total number of cases throughout the pandemic now stands at 6,409.

Over the past week, the campus has reported 82 positive tests 54 involving undergrads, nine faculty/staff members, nine grad students and 10 classified as "other."

Heres a daily breakdown of tests and unique cases on campus since March 1:

Two of the 17 COVID patients hospitalized in Urbana is in intensive care, according to data updated Wednesday by Carle Health.

In all, 35 patients with COVID-19 were hospitalized in Carle's five facilities in the region (an increase of two overnight), with six of those in ICU (also up by two).

Carles BroMenn Medical Center in Bloomington had 15 COVID patients, with four in ICU.

Carle's Eureka Hospital, Hoopeston Regional Health Center and Richland Memorial Hospital all had one COVID patient apiece.

Below is an overview of daily totals since March 1 for Carles Urbana and Bloomington hospitals.

Since March 2020, 1,450 COVID patients have been discharged from Carle facilities and 302 hospitalized patients have died.

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Wednesday's coronavirus updates: 'We have the B117 variant in our community. It is more infectious, and it is causing more serious illness in younger...