COVID hospitalizations have reached a pandemic high at Advocate Aurora Health medical centers in recent days, worsening already existing staffing shortages and leading to longer wait times for patients.
With 6,294 COVID-19 patients now hospitalized statewide, there are now more people hospitalized in Illinois with the disease than at any other point of the pandemic.
Health officials say the vast majority of patients filling hospital beds are unvaccinated, and the omicron variant is overwhelming an already-strained system.