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Illinois’ exponential coronavirus explosion took yet another record-breaking step up Friday as public health officials announced 15,415 more people have tested positive for COVID-19.

That’s almost 3,000 more infections than were reported a day earlier, and it’s the fourth straight day the state has reported an all-time high case count. Eight months into the pandemic, the state’s 25 highest daily caseloads have all come in the past four weeks.

The latest cases were confirmed among 106,540 tests submitted to the Illinois Department of Public Health, raising the average statewide testing positivity rate over the past week to 13.2%.

That number has almost tripled over the last month, suggesting the virus is spreading more rampantly than it has since the state weathered its first — much smaller — peak of the pandemic in mid-May.

While leaders in Chicago and suburban Cook County have issued stay-at-home advisories amid the violent viral flareup, Gov. J.B. Pritzker has said a full-on stay-at-home order for the entire state “seems like where we are heading.”

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The Illinois Department of Public Health also reported 27 more deaths attributed to the virus, including seven Chicago-area residents, raising the state’s death toll to 10,504.

Since March, nearly 552,000 people have tested positive for the virus in Illinois, about 4.4% of the population. Roughly 40% of all cases have surfaced in the last month alone.

Hospitals across the state are bracing for a devastating surge of coronavirus patients as they continue to admit the most coronavirus patients they’ve ever seen. On Thursday night, 5,362 beds were taken up by COVID-19 patients, an increase of 104 people from the previous night. Some hospitals are already approaching capacity.

All but six of Illinois’ 102 counties are considered to be at a coronavirus warning level, including the entire Chicago area.

The Cook County stay-at-home advisory was issued Friday, after the state guidance and the advisory issued for Chicago by Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Thursday.

Cook County’s advisory, which takes effect at 6 a.m. Monday and lasts at least 30 days, cautions residents to “refrain from any nonessential activities and stay home.” Among the activities considered essential are work, school, coronavirus testing, getting a flu shot and shopping for groceries.

Any other nonessential gatherings and travel should be put on hold, officials say, including vacations, social calls and, yes, holiday celebrations.

“Now more than ever, we must come together to stay apart,” the county’s senior medical officer, Dr. Rachel Rubin, said in a statement. “We know limiting gatherings with friends and family can be hard, but we also know that virtual celebrations will save lives.”

County officials are also calling on employers “to reestablish telework protocols for staff who are able to work from home.” The advisory does not call for closures of nonessential businesses.

More than 99,000 people in Cook County have contracted the virus so far, accounting for almost 20% of all the cases logged in the state during the pandemic. The county’s average testing positivity rate has more than doubled over a span of about three weeks to 15%.

On Thursday, Pritzker said that “if things don’t take a turn in the coming days, we will quickly reach the point when some form of a mandatory stay-at-home order is all that will be left,” to address the crisis. The governor is scheduled to deliver another COVID-19 briefing Friday afternoon.

As always, residents are urged to wear masks over their faces and noses, to maintain 6 feet of social distance and to regularly wash their hands with soap and warm water.

Residents seeking more information can call the Cook County Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 hotline at (708) 836-4755 or email ccdph.covid19@cookcountyhhs.org.