The CDC reports a nearly 30 percent uptick in COVID-related Illinois ER visits during the first week in June.

From Northern Public Radio:

Illinois emergency rooms saw a nearly 30% increase in patients testing positive for COVID-19 during the week ending June 8.

Illinois is one of nearly a dozen states that reported at least a moderate uptick that week. The trend has generally been on the rise since the beginning of May, when COVID patients accounted for roughly 0.3% of all people who visited an emergency room nationwide. As of June 8 that rose to 0.6%.

But despite the nearly 30% increase, data from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) shows just 0.5% of people who visited an ER did so because of COVID. Those numbers are still well below the levels seen during spikes last fall and winter.

“It's certainly a time for vigilance, but not necessarily a time for alarm,” said Dr. Arti Barnes, IDPH’s chief medical officer.