The Illinois Department of Public Health says the states overall respiratory illness level has gone from moderate to high. Hospitals are seeing an early uptick in winter hospitalizations. Emergency room visits topped 21 percent last week…that’s up 17 percent from the week before and the number of visits for the flu doubled. Covid cases were up 1.5 percent during the same period. There have been four pediatric deaths so far this season from the flu, covid and RSV.