SPRINGFEILD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois might have eluded the COVID-19 “surge upon a surge” that has struck some parts of the country in the aftermath of Thanksgiving.

Officials predicted a post-holiday surge in cases, which has hit some states. But while Illinois averaged 10,750 new cases a day in the three weeks leading to Thanksgiving, it has averaged 8,700 since.

While the bleak November numbers dwarf the recent ones, the state is still far ahead the 2,200 per day recorded during the depths of the initial coronavirus onslaught last spring. And deaths — there were 181 more Thursday — are higher than November.