St. Clair County reports smallest increase in new coronavirus cases in a month
St. Clair County on Monday recorded its smallest increase in new coronavirus cases in a month.
Officials said 32 additional residents tested positive for COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus. It is the county’s smallest jump in diagnoses since Saturday, July 11, when 21 new positives were announced.
Just last week, St. Clair County had recorded its highest one-day increase with 108 cases of the virus on Monday, Aug. 3.
Herb Simmons, director of St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency, said in a COVID-19 briefing Monday that more residents are wearing face masks, a measure to help prevent the virus from spreading. Officials discuss developments in the county though daily, virtual briefings on Facebook.
“Don’t get complacent,” Simmons said during the briefing. “... We had a couple of complaints today from some people at some businesses, some ice cream places. Those are being addressed.”
“Just think, if we can keep the numbers like that based on who’s doing their part of it now, if more people did it, we would get this thing behind us and get back to some sense of normal,” Simmons added. “That’s what we all want to do.”
Officials across the metro-east altogether recorded 121 new coronavirus cases Monday.
State leaders define the Metro East region as St. Clair, Madison, Clinton, Randolph, Monroe, Washington and Bond counties.
There were 51 new cases in Madison County, the health department’s website stated. Clinton County on Monday announced 24 new positives since Friday. Randolph County had 17 positives since Friday, including two on Monday, according to the health department.
Monroe, Washington and Bond counties each reported four new cases of the virus Monday.
In Southern Illinois, a separate region, Perry County announced its second death since the coronavirus pandemic began. Officials said Monday that a resident in her 90s died.
Over the weekend, 37 Perry County residents tested positive for COVID-19, including 20 residents and seven employees at “the Perry County long term care facility,” the health department said in a statement released Monday. Pinckneyville Nursing and Rehabilitation was the only Perry County facility reporting an outbreak of the virus as of Friday, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health’s last update on care centers.
Farther north, in the state’s West Central region, there were six new positives in Jersey County and four new positives in Macoupin County.
The Illinois Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 statistics website recorded 1,319 new cases and one death statewide Monday. The death the department announced was in Cumberland County. Each afternoon, the state agency publishes what has so far been entered into Illinois’ National Electronic Disease Surveillance System.
“The data is constantly being entered and may change as cases are investigated,” the Department of Public Health states on its website. “Therefore, numbers may vary from other sites where data is published” such as local health department websites or social media, where updates are posted later.
Threshold for state-imposed COVID restrictions
As of Friday, the latest date information was available, an average of 7.3% of the coronavirus tests performed in the metro-east over the past seven days were positive, a higher rate than Chicago or any other region of Illinois.
One of the state’s benchmarks for bringing back restrictions on businesses and activities in a region is if 8% or more of the tests are positive on average for three consecutive days. In the metro-east, that number has been at least 6% since July 12 and has gotten as high as 7.8% on July 25. At its highest, the metro-east’s rate was more than double the statewide average.
County and city leaders have been sharing the state’s safety guidelines on their websites, on social media and in letters to business owners in recent weeks as the number of diagnoses climbed in the region. They sought compliance with the rules, which call for face masks in most public places, at least 6 feet of distance between people and no more than 50 people in a crowd.
On Friday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration filed a proposed emergency rule that would give local authorities more power to enforce the state mask mandate at schools, businesses and childcare facilities. Some cities are discussing their own mask ordinances to potentially fine citizens for breaking the rule, including in East St. Louis, Cahokia, Fairview Heights, O’Fallon and Edwardsville.
Southwestern Illinois COVID-19 statistics
The following are the latest available statistics by county. ZIP code-level numbers are provided by the state each afternoon at dph.illinois.gov/covid19/covid19-statistics. Madison County compiles its own ZIP code statistics from the state reporting system later in the day, so the numbers may differ from what appears on the Illinois Department of Public Health’s website. The Belleville News-Democrat reports the information Madison County provides. ZIP codes with fewer than five cases of the virus are not reported by health officials. The number in parentheses after each ZIP code below reflects the change from the previous day’s cumulative total. A decrease reflects a correction. All other information comes from local health departments. The “recoveries” figure refers to the number of people who completed 14 days of isolation in most counties:
ST. CLAIR COUNTY
Monday’s new data: 32 new positives, 666 new tests administered, 57 new recoveries
Total overall: 4,441 positives, 158 deaths, 44,790 tests administered, 3,372 recoveries, 46 hospitalizations with one patient on a ventilator
ZIP codes with positives:
- 62059 (Brooklyn): 10
- 62201 (East St. Louis): 190 (+1)
- 62203 (East St. Louis, Centreville, Washington Park, Caseyville): 161 (+1)
- 62204 (East St. Louis): 121
- 62205 (East St. Louis, Alorton, Centreville): 161 (-1)
- 62206 (East St. Louis, Cahokia): 358 (+2)
- 62207 (East St. Louis, Centreville, Alorton): 210
- 62208 (Fairview Heights): 283 (+3)
- 62220 (Belleville, Smithton): 365 (+1)
- 62221 (Belleville): 393 (+1)
- 62223 (Belleville, Swansea): 213 (+2)
- 62225 (Scott Air Force Base): 17
- 62226 (Belleville, Swansea): 459 (+5)
- 62232 (Fairview Heights, Caseyville): 95 (-1)
- 62239 (Dupo): 55
- 62240 (Dupo): 17
- 62243 (Freeburg): 34
- 62254 (Lebanon): 132
- 62255 (Lenzburg): 13
- 62257 (Marissa): 24
- 62258 (Mascoutah, Fayetteville): 75
- 62260 (Millstadt): 69
- 62264 (New Athens): 70
- 62269 (O’Fallon): 317 (+3)
- 62285 (Smithton): 43
MADISON COUNTY
Monday’s new data: 51 new positives, 185 new tests administered, six new recoveries
Total overall: 2,608 positives, 77 deaths, 43,703 tests administered, 1,151 recoveries
ZIP codes with positives:
- 62001 (Kaufman, Alhambra): 9
- 62002 (Alton, East Alton, Godfrey): 369
- 62010 (Bethalto): 98
- 62018 (Alton, Bethalto, East Alton): 26
- 62024 (East Alton): 43
- 62025 (Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Pontoon Beach, Roxana): 366
- 62034 (Glen Carbon): 176
- 62035 (Godfrey): 146
- 62040 (Granite City, Pontoon Beach): 440
- 62048 (Edwardsville, Granite City, Roxana, Hartford): 6
- 62060 (Granite City, Madison, Venice): 79
- 62061 (Marine): 15
- 62062 (Maryville): 65
- 62067 (Moro): 17
- 62084 (Edwardsville, Wood River, Pontoon Beach, Roxana, South Roxana): 8
- 62087 (Edwardsville, Roxana, South Roxana, Hartford): 11
- 62090 (Madison, Venice): 27
- 62095 (Wood River): 70
- 62097 (Prairietown, Worden): 14
- 62234 (Collinsville, Pontoon Beach, State Park Place): 296
- 62249 (Highland): 128
- 62281 (St. Jacob): 27
- 62294 (Troy): 142
RANDOLPH COUNTY
Monday’s new data: two new positives
Total overall: 480 positives, seven deaths, 431 recoveries
ZIP codes with positives:
- 62217 (Baldwin): 12
- 62233 (Chester): 159 (+3)
- 62237 (Coulterville): 32 (+2)
- 62241 (Ellis Grove): 10
- 62242 (Evansville): 11
- 62272 (Willisville, Percy): 59
- 62278 (Red Bud): 66 (+2)
- 62286 (Sparta): 86
- 62288 (Steeleville): 53
CLINTON COUNTY
Monday’s new data: 24 new positives over Saturday, Sunday and Monday
Total overall: 415 positives, 17 deaths, 312 recoveries, three hospitalizations
ZIP codes with positives:
- 62215 (Albers, Damiansville): 16
- 62216 (Aviston): 25
- 62218 (Bartelso): 14 (+1)
- 62230 (Breese): 47
- 62231 (Carlyle): 115 (+1)
- 62245 (Germantown): 20 (+1)
- 62265 (New Baden): 78
- 62293 (Trenton): 45 (+1)
- 62801 (Centralia): 113 (+2)
MONROE COUNTY
Monday’s new data: four new positives
Total overall: 324 positives, 12 deaths
ZIP codes with positives:
- 62236 (Columbia): 143
- 62295 (Valmeyer): 14
- 62298 (Waterloo): 141 (+1)
MACOUPIN COUNTY
Monday’s new data: four new positives, 246 new tests administered
Total overall: 194 positives, four deaths, 11,602 tests administered, 54 recoveries
ZIP codes with positives:
- 62012 (Brighton): 44
62014 (Bunker Hill): 13
62033 (Gillespie): 28
62069 (Mount Olive): 14
- 62088 (Staunton): 27 (+1)
- 62626 (Carlinville): 32
- 62640 (Girard): 7
- 62690 (Virden): 12
PERRY COUNTY
Monday’s new data: 37 new positives (eight from Saturday and 29 from Sunday), one new death
Total overall: 186 positives, two deaths, 98 recoveries
ZIP codes with positives:
- 62238 (Cutler): 12
- 62274 (Pinckneyville): 86
- 62832 (Du Quoin): 50
- 62888 (Tamaroa): 8
JERSEY COUNTY
Monday’s new data: six new positives
Total overall: 116 positives, two deaths, 79 recoveries
ZIP codes with positives:
- 62022 (Newbern): 8
- 62037 (Grafton): 12 (+1)
- 62052 (Jerseyville): 65 (+8)
WASHINGTON COUNTY
Monday’s new data: four new positives
Total overall: 67 positives, 58 recoveries, four hospitalizations
ZIP codes with positives:
- 62214 (Venedy, Addieville): 7 (+1)
- 62263 (Nashville, New Minden): 21
- 62271 (Okawville): 12
- 62808 (Ashley): 9
- 62848 (Irvington): 7
BOND COUNTY
Monday’s new data: four new positives
Total overall: 65 positives, three deaths, 3,232 tests administered, one hospitalization
ZIP codes with positives:
- 62246 (Greenville): 42 (+1)
- 62275 (Pocahontas): 15
CALHOUN COUNTY
Monday’s new data: no new data released
Total overall: nine positives, six recoveries
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 Monday afternoon:
- Illinois: 195,399 cases, 7,637 deaths
- U.S.: 5,058,464 cases, 163,100 deaths, 1,656,864 recoveries
- World: 19,919,559 cases, 732,284 deaths, 12,143,142 recoveries
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 healthcare 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 August 10, 2020 at 4:55 PM.
