Illinois’ first death-free day worth celebrating, but it doesn’t signal the end just yet

It’s too bad Illinois towns depleted their fireworks displays over the weekend. Because on Monday, the state had another momentous occasion to celebrate: the first day since March 16, 2020, in which it recorded zero COVID-19 deaths.

It’s been 475 days, folks. And that is definitely something to get excited about.

But as with the Fourth of July, our recording of the first zero day in the pandemic does not signal its end.

The Revolutionary War didn’t fall apart for the British until October 1781 at the Siege of Yorktown. To be sure, our Declaration of Independence set a course for our emancipation from British rule, but it didn’t end it outright.

So celebrate this milestone, but don’t be fooled into thinking the first zero-death day in the COVID-19 pandemic means it’s all over.

According to our Jake Griffin, the state health department the very next day reported 16 more deaths, most of them in Cook County.

And from Friday to Tuesday, 1,221 new cases were reported.

Some 421 people were in hospitals on Tuesday, being treated for COVID-19. Ninety-eight of them were in critical care.

While the seven-day case positivity rate in Illinois is nowhere near its high watermark of 13.2% in mid-Novem

ber, the current 1.1% rate is higher than it’s been in a month.

That is headed in the wrong direction. It’s cause for concern and could be a sign that we’re not showing enough concern about the virus anymore.

Close to 23,300 people have died from this disease in Illinois, and nearly 1.4 million Illinoisans have been infected.

Some 63.7% of eligible people have received at least one dose of the vaccine, but just 56.1% of those eligible people are considered fully vaccinated. We hope that those who’ve gotten their first dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines in the past four weeks end up getting their second dose. Not getting that second dose, renders you much less protected than getting both.

The Daily Herald is no longer covering the pandemic as closely as we had in previous months, but we are providing regular statistical breakdowns that tell us which way this thing is heading.

We’re following the path of the Delta variant. We’ve noted that almost all new cases of COVID-19 are occurring in people who have not been vaccinated.

The proof is there if you choose to accept it.

So revel in the knowledge that we’ve managed to go a single day without losing a single soul — but for the sake of all of us do your best to ensure that we are able to string together a long list of them.