Twenty counties in Illinois are now at a “warning level” for coronavirus, the state health department said Friday.
The warning means that each of the counties saw increases in two or more COVID-19 “risk indicators,” the health department said.
The counties now under warning include: Bureau, Cass, Clay, Clinton, Franklin, Greene, Grundy, Hancock, Henderson, Jefferson, Logan, Madison, Monroe, Moultrie, Randolph, St. Louis. Clair, Union, White, Will, and Williamson.
Last week, 14 counties were at a “warning level”, of which 11 remained on the list Friday.
The counties each saw “outbreaks related to weddings, businesses, neighborhood gatherings, parties, long-term facilities and other community institutions, travel to neighboring states, bars, sports camps, and spread among non-isolated members of the same household” at home, “IDPH said in a release. Some cases were also linked to schools, health officials said.
“Public health officials observe people who do not socially distance themselves or wear face masks,” the IDPH release read. “In addition, there are reports of people being sick who have attributed their symptoms to allergies or other diseases, or who do not come across their symptoms as close contacts.”
Among the metrics evaluated to determine if a province has reached an “alert level” are:
• New cases per 100,000 people. If there are 50 or more new cases per 100,000 people in the province, this triggers a warning.
• Number of dead. This metric indicates a warning if the number of deaths for two consecutive weeks increases by more than 20%.
• Weekly test positivity. This metric indicates a warning if the positivity rate of 7 days test increases above 8%.
• ICU availability. If less than 20% of intensive care units are available in the region, this triggers a warning.
• Weekly visits to emergency departments This metric means a warning if the weekly percentage of COVID-19-like-illness visits for two consecutive weeks increases by more than 20%.
• Weekly hospital admissions. A warning is triggered if the weekly number of hospital admissions for COVID-19-like illness increases by two more than two consecutive weeks.
• Perform tests. This metric is used to provide context and indicate when more tests are needed in the province.
• Clusters. This metric looks at the percentage of COVID-19 cases associated with clusters or outbreaks and is used to understand large increases in cases.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said earlier this week that most of the 11 regions in Illinois are seeing increases in positive rates, but two in particular report “difficult trends” as the state continues to see an increase in coronavirus metrics.
Already, Region 4 of the state, the East-East region, is under stricter mitigation requirements by the state after the area went above an 8 percent positivity rate for three days in a row. As of Tuesday, the region had a positivity figure of 9.4 percent and Pritzker warned of additional restrictions as the complete closure of indoor dining and drinking could soon be put in place.
In addition to Region 4, Pritzker said Regions 2, 3, 8, 9, 10 and 11 have also seen an increase in their seven-day rolling average positivity rate. Only three regions – Regions 1, 5 and 6 – have seen slight declines.
Of those who see increases in positivity rates, Pritzker said officials “closely monitor” what he called “difficult trends” in Region 7, which includes Kankakee and Will counties, as well as Region 5 in southern Illinois.
“I would like to reiterate that local elected officials and health officials should pay close attention to the data for their communities and, if necessary, target larger mitigations on a targeted basis to reduce the number of infections and the positivity rate,” he said. Said Pritzker. “Otherwise, it may only be a matter of time before the state is forced to step into other areas on a regional basis and set up reduction of resettlement, such as closing bars, indoor dining, limiting all indoor meetings to even smaller capacity and more to reduce the spread of the virus. “
Illinois health officials on Friday reported more than 2,200 new cases of coronavirus, along with a third straight test record.
According to new data from the Illinois Department of Health, the total number of coronavirus cases during the pandemic so far stands at 215,929.
Friday’s 24 extra deaths bring the death toll from the state of the virus to 7,857 total deaths.
According to officials, a total of 51,736 new tests were performed in the last 24 hours, marking another daily record and above 51,612 as of Thursday.
Friday’s results also lower the 7-day rolling positivity rate from the state to 4.3%, according to newly available data.
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