DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - Illinois has not reached the "bridge phase" to reopening from the pandemic yet.

Fortunately, as of Wednesday, 70% of Illinoisans who are 65 and older have been vaccinated. It is one of the prerequisites to entering the bridge phase. 

However, data from the Illinois Department of Public Health shows how the state is lagging behind in COVID-19 hospitalizations and daily cases. Awais Vaid, an epidemiologist in Champaign County, said it was normal seeing 10 to 15 cases per day. 

"But in the last two weeks there have been days where we've seen 30, 40 and 50 cases per day as well," Vaid said. 

Weekly updates from the Memorial Health System show an increase in hospitalizations. Memorial Medical Center, for example, had 14 patients for COVID-19 on March 19. The following week, the number increased to 16. On March 26, 19 patients were in for COVID-19. As of Wednesday, four out of the 19 patients were in the ICU. 

Regions 3 and 6 showed stable signs of not moving backward, with the exception of increased hospital visits.Â