St. Clair County officials ask Illinois to allow sharing of coronavirus cases by zip code
St. Clair County officials are calling on the Illinois Department of Public Health to allow more specific information about where cases of coronavirus have been confirmed.
County Board Chairman Mark Kern said Thursday he supports a request from the county health department to the IDPH that would allow the counties to show confirmed COVID-19 cases by zip code.
“I agree that we should be allowed to do that,” Kern wrote on his Facebook wall. “This virus is affecting our residents regardless of location, gender, race or income.”
As of Wednesday, the county health department had reported 50 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and two deaths. Statewide, according to IDPH, there are 6,980 confirmed cases and 141 deaths.
In his post, Kern reminded residents to stay home , practice social distancing and wash their hands.
In St. Louis, where cases are “skyrocketing,” Fox 2 News reported St. Louis City released a zip code map where confirmed cases can be tracked by zip code.
Counties in southern Illinois have had different policies regarding what they will report, but most have been limited to gender, age and, in some cases, how the disease was contracted.