Rockford COVID hospitalizations fall for sixth straight week

February 18, 2022 at 5:13 pm Kevin Haas

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — The number of patients hospitalized in the city after testing positive for the coronavirus has fallen for a sixth straight week, according to the Winnebago County Health Department.

There were 73 people being treated for COVID-19 at Mercyhealth, OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center and UW Health SwedishAmerican Hospital as of Thursday evening. That’s down from 91 a week earlier and 219 at the peak in mid-January.

It marks the fewest number of people hospitalized at the point in time of the Health Department’s weekly report since Nov. 11.

“It’s great news, we’ll finally be able to take these masks off, we’ll be able to gather in large groups and get some sense of normalcy back,” Mayor Tom McNamara said of falling coronavirus numbers on This Week in the Stateline.

Related: Forward for Fun aims to ‘energize’ Rockford’s pandemic recovery

Gov. JB Pritzker said last week that the statewide indoor mask mandate would be lifted by Feb. 28 if the downward trend on coronavirus cases continues. And, late Thursday, the 4th District Appellate Court in Springfield issued a decision that made masks in schools optional, allowing districts to set their own rules.

McNamara continued to urge people to get vaccinated, as he has done for months alongside local public health officials. Just under 57% of Winnebago County residents are vaccinated, compared to 63% statewide.

“We need to bolster up our defense of whatever may come next, if something does,” McNamara said.

Statewide, hospitalizations have fallen to 1,590 from the peak of 7,380 on Jan. 12.