Monroe, Perry join list of Illinois counties at warning level for spread of COVID-19

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) reported Friday that 13 counties in Illinois are considered to be at a warning level for novel coronavirus.

A county enters a warning level when it sees an increase to two or more risk indicators.

Thirteen counties are currently reported at a warning level including Monroe and Perry counties. St. Clair County is on the list for the third week in a row. The others include Cass, Coles, Grundy, Iroquois, Jackson, Saline, St. Clair, Tazewell, Union, Williamson, Winnebago.

These counties saw cases or outbreaks associated with businesses, long-term care facilities, large social gatherings, and out of state travel. There have been several instances of multiple cases among family members in the same, large household, according to IDPH..

Students returning to universities and colleges are also driving the recent increase in cases in several communities. Many students are not wearing face coverings or social distancing and are gathering in large groups and at bars, IDPH announced through a press release.

IDPH uses numerous indicators when determining if a county is experiencing stable COVID-19 activity, or if there are warning signs of increased COVID-19 risk in the county. The metrics are updated weekly, from the Sunday-Saturday of the prior week.

• New cases per 100,000 people. If there are more than 50 new cases per 100,000 people in the county, this triggers a warning.
• Number of deaths. This metric indicates a warning when the weekly 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.

These metrics are intended to be used for local level awareness to help local leaders, businesses, local health departments, and the public make informed decisions about personal and family gatherings, as well as what activities they choose to do.