Southwest Illinois has another triple-digit day of new COVID-19 cases, 1 new death
Southwestern Illinois again exceeded more than 100 new daily COVID-19 cases Friday.
Overall, the region announced 117 new cases Friday — but just one new death — marking the fifth straight day of more than 100 reported cases. St. Clair County reported 68 new cases and one new death and Madison County reported 45 new cases but no new deaths.
St. Clair County now has 2,871 coronavirus cases and 148 deaths related to the virus, leading the metro-east in both categories.
The death reported by the county Friday was a woman in her 50s with no known health conditions. Cases reported Friday in St. Clair County ranged in ages from under 10 to people in their 90s, including six cases of children under 10, six cases of individuals in their teens, 17 cases of people in their 20s and 12 cases of individuals in their 30s. Currently, 35 people remain hospitalized due to COVID-19 but none are on a ventilator in St. Clair County.
During St. Clair County’s weekly briefing Thursday, officials discussed the recent spike in coronavirus cases.
“We saw something similar to this over the Memorial Day holiday, and now we’ve had the Fourth of July; we’re seeing this spike. So we’re hoping by Sunday or Monday this week that we see those numbers start to go down,” said Herb Simmons, St. Clair County’s Emergency Management Agency director.
Simmons said the county is seeing the same trend as the state with younger people testing positive more often now — specifically those who are 20 to 29 years old.
Madison County now has 1,410 coronavirus cases and 71 virus-related deaths and a daily positivity rate of 8.89%. Among the new cases announced Friday, six were of people under 20, five of people in their 20s, six of people in their 30s, 11 of people in their 40s and 11 of people in their 50s.
Currently, St. Clair and Madison county’s seven-day rolling averages are 57 and 39 cases per day, respectively. Those numbers are up from 56 and 33 on Thursday. The majority of cases in the metro-east are coming from those two counties.
Clinton County reported three new cases Friday. However, hundreds of people who attended recent events in the county have been exposed to the coronavirus, the health department said Friday.
Officials believe the virus is widespread in all parts of the county now. And they are worried it could lead to restrictions again after bars, restaurants and other businesses reopened three weeks ago, Clinton County Health Department Administrator Sean Eifert said in a news release about the situation.
The news release from the health department did not include the date or location of the events but said that health department staff is working to track the people who were exposed.
After nine consecutive days of new cases — including 12 on Thursday — Monroe County did not announce any new cases Friday.
“This past week we have seen a substantial increase in positives, 50% of the increase was in the 20-30 age range,” Monroe County Health Department Administrator John Wagner wrote in a statement. “From what I am seeing it appears that the days around the 4th of July saw substantial people getting together. We have not been able to track any one gathering or behavior to the increase. We have seen a few cases traced back to float trips, parties or other gatherings but have not seen any large numbers from any one event or behavior.”
Wagner said any time people are in close contact with others and not wearing face coverings, their chance of infection increases.
“Individuals just need to be aware that unmasked in groups will increase their risk and that everyone has the ability to determine the amount of risk they are comfortable with,” he added. “While we have seen an increase in cases the number of people requiring hospitalization has decreased. This is a good sign that people with underlying health conditions or the elderly have remained cautious and needs to continue and that our long term care facility is doing everything they can to protect the residents.”
Other counties throughout the metro-east reported new cases Friday as well. Randolph County reported four new cases, all from at outbreak at Chester Mental Health. Bond County also announced one new case.
The state announced 1,384 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Friday — the highest total since June 2 — and 22 additional virus-related deaths.
Illinois has seen a total of 7,272 deaths during the pandemic as of Friday, officials reported. A total of 159,334 people have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, while more than 2.1 million people have been tested for COVID-19, including 43,692 since Thursday.
Additionally, health officials reported the preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total tests from July 10-16 is 3%. As of last night, 1,431 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 309 patients were in the ICU and 128 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
Here are the latest available statistics for southwestern Illinois counties. The number in parenthesis reflects how the new daily total compares to the prior day total. Subtractions occur when a COVID-19 positive patient is misdiagnosed or moves away from the area.
ST. CLAIR COUNTY
Friday’s new data: 68 new positives, one new death, 533 new tests administered, 122 new recoveries, 11 new hospitalizations
Total overall: 2,871 positives, 148 deaths, 25,842 tests administered, 210 pending results, 2,061 recoveries, 35 hospitalizations, no people on ventilators
ZIP codes with positives (ZIP codes with five or fewer cases are not reported):
- 62059 (Brooklyn): 8 (-1)
- 62201 (East St. Louis): 148 (+3)
- 62203 (East St. Louis, Centreville, Washington Park, Caseyville): 107 (+15)
- 62204 (East St. Louis): 87 (+1)
- 62205 (East St. Louis, Alorton, Centreville): 105 (+5)
- 62206 (East St. Louis, Cahokia): 267 (+9)
- 62207 (East St. Louis, Centreville, Alorton): 146
- 62208 (Fairview Heights): 153 (+8)
- 62220 (Belleville, Smithton): 242 (+1)
- 62221 (Belleville): 242 (+4)
- 62223 (Belleville, Swansea): 110 (+4)
- 62225 (Scott Air Force Base): 10
- 62226 (Belleville, Swansea): 291 (+12)
- 62232 (Fairview Heights, Caseyville): 60
- 62239 (Dupo): 25 (+1)
- 62243 (Freeburg): 14 (+2)
- 62254 (Lebanon): 103
- 62255 (Lenzburg): 8
- 62257 (Marissa): 13 (-1)
- 62258 (Mascoutah, Fayetteville): 33 (+1)
- 62260 (Millstadt): 26
- 62264 (New Athens): 60
- 62269 (O’Fallon): 167 (+11)
- 62285 (Smithton): 25 (+1)
MADISON COUNTY
Friday’s new data: 45 new positives, no new deaths, 506 new tests administered, eight new recoveries
Total overall: 1,410 positives, 71 deaths, 26,697 tests administered, 687 recoveries, 111 hospitalizations
ZIP codes with positives:
- 62002 (Alton, East Alton, Godfrey): 204 (+5)
- 62010 (Bethalto): 52
- 62018 (Alton, Bethalto, East Alton): 13
- 62024 (East Alton): 19
- 62025 (Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Pontoon Beach, Roxana): 194 (+7)
- 62034 (Glen Carbon): 106
- 62035 (Godfrey): 79 (+2)
- 62040 (Granite City, Pontoon Beach): 269 (+12)
- 62060 (Granite City, Madison, Venice): 64 (+2)
- 62062 (Maryville): 22 (+1)
- 62090 (Madison, Venice): 19 (+2)
- 62095 (Wood River): 35 (+2)
- 62234 (Collinsville, Pontoon Beach, State Park Place): 194 (+7)
- 62249 (Highland): 29 (+1)
- 62294 (Troy): 57 (+1)
- 62067 (Moro): 9
- 62281 (St. Jacob): 11 (+3)
RANDOLPH COUNTY
Friday’s new data: Four new positives
Total overall: 356 positives, seven deaths, 4,449 tests administered, no hospitalizations, 287 recoveries
ZIP codes with positives:
- 62233 (Chester): 122
- 62237 (Coulterville): 7
- 62241 (Ellis Grove): 7
- 62242 (Evansville): 7
- 62272 (Willisville, Percy): 50
- 62278 (Red Bud): 23
- 62286 (Sparta): 57
- 62288 (Steeleville): 33
CLINTON COUNTY
Friday’s new data: Three new positives
Total overall: 271 positives, 17 deaths, no hospitalizations, 233 recoveries
ZIP codes with positives:
- 62230 (Breese): 28
- 62231 (Carlyle): 88
- 62265 (New Baden): 45
- 62293 (Trenton): 11
- 62801 (Centralia): 70
MONROE COUNTY
Friday’s new data: No new data
Total overall: 184 positives, 12 deaths
ZIP codes with positives:
- 62236 (Columbia): 59
- 62295 (Valmeyer): 14
- 62298 (Waterloo): 76
MACOUPIN COUNTY
Friday’s new data: No new data
Total overall: 82 positives, four deaths, 7,503 tests administered, 54 recoveries, 66 tests pending
ZIP codes with positives:
- 62012 (Brighton): 19
- 62069 (Mount Olive): 11
- 62088 (Staunton): 9
62014 (Bunker Hill): 7
62626 (Carlinville): 16
62033 (Gillespie): 8
PERRY COUNTY
Friday’s new data: No new data
Total overall: 65 positives, 58 recoveries, one death
ZIP codes with positives:
- 62238 (Cutler): 6
- 62274 (Pinckneyville): 14
- 62832 (Du Quoin): 18
JERSEY COUNTY
Friday’s new data: No new data
Total overall: 51 positives, one death, 34 recoveries
ZIP codes with positives:
- 62052 (Jerseyville): 20
WASHINGTON COUNTY
Friday’s new data: No new data
Total overall: 29 positives, 25 recoveries
BOND COUNTY
Friday’s new data: One new positive
Total overall: 23 positives, one death, 15 recoveries, 1,606 tests administered
ZIP codes with positives:
- 62246 (Greenville): 10
CALHOUN COUNTY
Friday’s new data: No new data
Total overall: Two positives, one recovery
State, nation, world statistics
Here are the latest available statistics from the Illinois Department of Public Health and Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus map as of Friday afternoon:
- Illinois: 159,334 cases, 7,272 deaths
- U.S.: 3,727,635 cases, 141,527 deaths, 1,694,496 recoveries
- World: 14,068,418 cases, 595,114 deaths, 8,376,004 recoveries
COVID-19 testing sites in Fairview Heights, Dupo
The St. Clair County Health Department announces the following COVID-19 community testing sites:
- Dupo: 10 a.m. to noon at 1-3 p.m. Tuesday, July 21, at Dupo Park, 800 Bluffview Elementary Lane, Dupo.
- Fairview Heights: 10 a.m. to noon and 1-3 p.m. Wednesday, July 22, at Moody Park, 525 S. Ruby Lane, Fairview Heights.
No appointment necessary, masks required.
Here is additional information about each testing site:
- Tests are free.
- People should bring their health insurance card if they have one.
- Testing adults and children over 3 years old.
- Photo identification required.
- Tests will be done by throat swab.
- The St. Clair County Health Department will call people with their results within 2-5 days* (normal turnaround time. Results may take longer depending on the number of tests being processed).
This is sponsored by St. Clair County Health Department, St. Clair County, SIHF Healthcare,Touchette Regional Hospital, IDP, the cities of Fairview Heights, Dupo, and East Carondelet. For more information call 618-825-4420
COVID-19 restrictions cancel date at Belle-Clair
Due to local restrictions on mass gatherings from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the DIRTcar Summer Nationals and Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals race originally scheduled for Sunday, July 26, at Belle-Clair Speedway has been canceled.
Belle-Clair has not hosted any racing events yet this season and does not foresee being able to open by July 26. However, the tours aim to return to the track in 2021.
For more information, visit ModifiedNationals.com or @SummerNationals.
Want to help? Here are some ideas
The BND has compiled a list of ways you can help during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Go to BND. com to learn about the opportunities to volunteer your time or donate to help communities in the metro-east without putting yourself or others at risk.
You can sew face masks, read stories for people with vision loss and deliver meals to seniors.
If you know of a recognized charitable organization looking for help that isn’t listed, please tell us about it. Send an email to newsroom@bnd.com or fill out the BND’s Southwest Illinois Coronavirus Service and Assistance Guide online at BND.com.
Get the latest news on coronavirus
BND.com will keep you updated throughout the day with information about the spread of the coronavirus in southwestern Illinois.
You can also find the most complete and up-to-date information from government sites including:
State of Illinois’ COVID-19 page: coronavirus.illinois.gov
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/summary.html
Federal government’s coronavirus page: cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
Who to call about mental health
Here are some resources from mental health professionals for anyone struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic:
- Touchette Regional Hospital’s Mental Health Support and Resource Line: Call 618-482-7158 to talk to trained therapy staff.
- Illinois Human Services Mental Health Division’s Call4Calm: Text the word “talk” to 552020 to text with a mental health care professional for free.
- Centerstone of Illinois, Inc.: Call 618-462-2331 for virtual mental health services.
- Chestnut Health Systems: Call 618-877-4420 for virtual mental health services.
- Narcotics and Alcoholics Anonymous: Call 618-398-9409 or email metroeastnapr@gmail.com to learn about virtual meetings.
- Regional Disaster Mental Health Volunteer Response Team: Call a support line for health care professionals at 618-381-5173.
Contact BND with tips, concerns, suggestions
If you have suggestions about something for the BND to cover regarding the COVID-19 pandemic or if you see a report that sounds suspicious on social media or anywhere else, please drop us a note at newsroom@bnd.com and include a link. We’ll check it out.
We’d like to hear from health-care workers
The BND would like to speak with nurses, doctors and other health care professionals who are on the front lines caring for patients in doctor’s offices, clinics and hospitals during this difficult time. We’re interested in hearing about your challenges and rewards, frustrations and accomplishments. How is this affecting you? Send us an email at newsroom@bnd.com.
Willing to share your COVID-19 story?
Have you recovered from coronavirus or are you in the process of recovering from COVID-19? We would like to hear from you on how you dealt with the respiratory disease. Send us an email at newsroom@bnd.com.
This story was originally published July 17, 2020 at 4:36 PM.