Illinois warns Randolph County it could face restrictions if COVID-19 continues its surge
Randolph County was one of four counties singled out by the Illinois Department of Public Health on Friday, warning them that the rising number of coronavirus cases could bring back restrictions.
The other counties were Adams, LaSalle and Peoria.
“A county enters a warning level when two or more COVID-19 risk indicators that measure the amount of COVID-19 increase,” the public health department said in a news release.
This is at least the second time this week the state has called out Randolph County.
St. Clair and Randolph counties are the “primary contributors” to the metro-east’s spiking coronavirus cases as the region nears the threshold to bring back restrictions, state officials said this week.
“These counties saw outbreaks associated with business and risky behavior,” the Friday news release stated.
The IDPH release cited Randolph County on three specific issues:
▪ Congregate settings.
▪ Numerous bars not complying with distancing and masking.
▪ A large party with more than 200 people.
On Wednesday, the News-Democrat reported an outbreak of the virus at the Chester Mental Health Center is contributing to Randolph County’s spike in cases. Illinois officials have said a total of six residents and 41 employees there have tested positive for COVID-19 since June 25.
As of Friday, there had been 403 total positive cases in Randolph County this year and seven deaths. Eight new cases and no deaths were reported Friday, according to a county news release.
“We are now experiencing community spread in the majority of the communities in Randolph County,” according to the statement on Friday. This comment also was in a statement released earlier in the week.
Angela Oathout, administrator of the Randolph County Health Department, could not be reached for comment Friday.
The state’s news release did not include statistics about why the county was put on the warning list. However, a state “risk metrics” map lists three reasons why Randolph County was given a warning for the week of July 12 to July 18:
▪ The county had a rate of 150 cases per 100,000 people during the latest measuring range and the target is 50 per 100,000.
▪ The county has a 8.1% test positivity rate and the target is 8%. Positivity rates refer to the percentage of total tests that are positive. On Friday, the county said it had a 7.8% positivity rate.
▪ There were 616 tests performed in the county between July 12 and July 18. “Testing is sufficient when test positivity is less than or equal to 8%,” according to the state.
Here the indicators used by the state to determine if a county needs to be warned about increased risks:
• New cases per 100,000 people. If there are 50 or more new cases per 100,000 people in the county, this triggers a warning.
• Number of deaths. This metric indicates a warning when the number of deaths increases more than 20% for two consecutive weeks.
• Weekly test positivity. This metric indicates a warning when the 7-day test positivity rate rises above 8%.
• ICU availability. If there are fewer than 20% of intensive care units available in the region, this triggers a warning.
• Weekly emergency department visits. This metric indicates a warning when the weekly percent of COVID-19-like-illness emergency department visits increase by more than 20% for two consecutive weeks.
• Weekly hospital admissions. A warning is triggered when the weekly number of hospital admissions for COVID-19-like-illness increases by more than 20% for two consecutive weeks.
• Tests perform. This metric is used to provide context and indicate if more testing is needed in the county.
• Clusters. This metric looks at the percent of COVID-19 cases associated with clusters or outbreaks and is used to understand large increase in cases.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with the latest statistics for the number of deaths and positive coronavirus cases in Randolph County. The previous numbers were for another county.
This story was originally published July 24, 2020 at 2:04 PM.
