New cases of coronavirus reported in St. Clair, Madison, Monroe and Washington counties
Six new cases of COVID-19 were announced in the metro-east Wednesday, as the total number of cases and deaths in Illinois also continued to rise.
Twenty coronavirus cases have now been confirmed in the metro-east with the addition of three new cases in Madison, Clinton and Monroe counties and three new cases in St. Clair County alone. No deaths have been reported in southwestern Illinois.
In total, there are now 10 cases in St. Clair County, three in Madison, four in Clinton, one in Washington and two in Monroe.
In Illinois, the total number of cases rose by 330 with three new deaths announced by Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, Wednesday. Ezike said sharing the number of cases and deaths in the state is a reminder to all citizens to “do the right thing.”
“As difficult as it is to hear the news of more cases and deaths each day, I do believe sharing this information will keep us focused and remind us of why we all need to continue doing the right things,” she said. “Doing the right thing will eventually lead us to numbers decreasing and eventually ending.”
St. Clair County’s three new cases were three males, one in his 40s, one in his 20s and one in his 60s. All three cases were “community spread,” said St. Clair County Health Department Emergency Response Coordinator Samantha Bierman.
Madison County officials released information on its third positive case of coronavirus. According to the county, the patient is a woman in her 30s and has recovered. People who have been in close contact with the woman have been notified and are “taking proper precautions,” a statement from the county said..
In Clinton County, health department officials said all four cases involved international travel. In a statement, the health department urged residents to continue practicing social distancing, frequent handwashing, avoid touching the face with hands and to report any respiratory symptoms.
Clinton County’s latest case is a woman in her 20s who lives in the county.
On Tuesday, the number of coronavirus cases had increased to 1,535 statewide. On Wednesday, the Illinois total stood at 1,865 with 21 deaths.
Ezike said coronavirus has now been found in 35 counties in Illinois. She said the state expects things to get worse before they get better.
“We will see cases continue to grow, which is why we all continue to take action to reduce the number of people affected and shorted the length of this pandemic,” she said.
This story was originally published March 25, 2020 at 3:03 PM.