New singleday virus record with 6,161 cases.

Illinois set a record high number of confirmed daily coronavirus cases Saturday as a surge continues.

The 6,161 cases announced by state public health officials far surpassed the single- day record of 4,942 fromThursday

Health officials also reported 63 additional fatalities, bringing the statewide death toll to 9,481 since the start of the pandemic. The 63 deaths are not nearly as high as in the spring, when daily deaths topped 100 for nearly three weeks in May. However, the last time the state saw daily death totals of higher than 60 was in June.

The current surge pushed the state’s positivity rate from 5.6% to 6.1% and set a new high mark for the seven-day rolling average with 4,341 cases. During the height of the first surge in April and May, the sevenday average of daily cases did not top 2,600.

There were fewer tests done back then, however. The 83,517 test results announced Saturday is more than four times what the state was conducting per day in the spring and summer. The surge continues as Illinois’ top public health official on Friday made an emotional appeal to residents to “fight the fatigue” as the state ended the week with half its counties at a “warning level” for a resurgence of COVID-19 and a broad swath of the state living under stricter rules meant to slowits spread.

On Friday, the state banned indoor bar and restaurant service, and lowered limits on gatherings to 25 people in Kane, DuPage, Will and Kankakee counties. In Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot imposed a 10 p.m. curfew on all nonessential city businesses.

Trailing indicators that signal the seriousness of the outbreak like deaths and hospitalizations also are showing increases.

There’s been a slight increase in coronavirus hospitalizations this month. On Oct. 1, 37.9% of the state’s ICU beds were open. On Friday, there were 33.7% available. While none of the state’s 11 regions are below the benchmark of 20% available medical/surgical or ICU beds, Chicago, suburban Cook County, DuPage and Kane counties, Will and Kankakee counties, and the Metro East region near St. Louis are within 10 percentage points.