As confirmed cases and deaths from COVID-19 continue to rise across the country, Illinois has a very real problem on their hands when it comes to this pandemic. The United States has the most confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the world. Illinois ranks amongst the states that has it the worst.
While intensive care unit (ICU) beds might not be the first thing that comes to mind, Champaign Showers has detailed this pretty significant problem with their interactive map that showcases the lack of ICU beds in the state outside of Chicago. While ICU beds are certainly one component of a much larger problem, which is a lack of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in medical facilities across the country, CS goes into a bit of detail about why this is a problem, especially downstate.
I’ve gone ahead and embedded the map below, but notice there’s a byline on Champaign Showers you might recognize if you’ve read SP over the years: Boswell Hutson, alongside Liz Miernicki, have put in the work here.
Top image is a screenshot from Google Maps.