Coronavirus

Region 4 in southwestern Illinois sees another day of a rising positivity rate

By Garen Vartanian

Updated September 11, 2020 8:41 AM

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The Metro-East Region 4 positivity rate increased for a seventh-straight day Thursday, rising to 10.1% from 9.9% on Wednesday.

The positivity rate is the percentage of coronavirus tests that were positive. The rate the state calculates is based on a week’s worth of tests.

It is a metric state officials use to decide whether to impose restrictions on businesses and activities in an effort to prevent the virus from spreading.

The state defines the metro-east, or Region 4, as St. Clair, Madison, Clinton, Randolph, Monroe, Bond and Washington counties.

Illinois provides the rate for each region at dph.illinois.gov/regionmetrics. Information on the website is delayed by three days, so Monday, Sept. 7, was the latest data available Thursday.

Statewide, the rolling seven-day average positivity rate rose slightly to 3.8% on Thursday from 3.7% on Wednesday.

Overall, 192 new positive tests of COVID-19 and three new deaths were reported in Region 4 on Thursday. St. Clair County reported 95 new cases, up from 65 on Wednesday. The county also reported one new death — a man in his 80s with underlying health conditions. That brings the county’s death total to 179.

Madison County, meanwhile, reported 74 new cases Thursday, down from 90 on Wednesday. The county also reported two new deaths — a woman in her 70s and a woman in her 80s. It is unknown if either had underlying health conditions. Madison County now has 112 deaths.

Clinton County reported 15 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, while Monroe County reported six new cases and Randolph County reported two new cases, including one from Menard Correctional Center in Chester. Washington and Bond counties did not report any new data Thursday.

Regionally, as of Thursday afternoon, 31% of the metro-east’s hospital beds were available — up slightly from 30% on Wednesday — and 41% of its ICU beds were available — the same as Wednesday — according to the state.

Also, for Region 4, 80 people were hospitalized from COVID-19 as of Thursday, a drop from 90 on Wednesday. Eight of those patients were on ventilators, a drop from nine on Wednesday.

Outside of Region 4, nearby Macoupin County reported five new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday. Perry, Calhoun and Jersey counties did not report any new data Thursday.

St. Clair County’s latest rundown

St. Clair County has now recorded a total of 6,516 COVID-19 diagnoses and 179 deaths since the coronavirus pandemic began. COVID-19 is a respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

The daily positivity rate stayed the same at 9.3% on Thursday. The daily positivity rate is the percentage of positives from a day’s worth of coronavirus tests.

The county’s seven-day positivity rate was 7.1% as of Thursday, up from 6.8% on Wednesday.

Officials said 44 people were receiving treatment for COVID-19 in St. Clair County hospitals, down from 46 people Wednesday. Three of the patients were on ventilators, the same as Wednesday.

The newly diagnosed St. Clair County residents ranged in age from under 10 years old to their 90s. Overall, 50 of the 95 cases were of people in their 40s or younger.

New cases were reported at two long-term care facilities in St. Clair County, Integrity Healthcare of Smithton (22 new cases), Four Fountains in Belleville (four new cases), and Caritas Family Solutions in Belleville (one new case).

No county ZIP codes saw a double digit increase Thursday. The largest uptick was in the 62220 ZIP code (Belleville, Smithton) where nine new cases were reported, for a total of 504.

St. Clair County health official discusses contact tracing

During Thursday’s daily briefing, St. Clair County Health Department Emergency Response Coordinator Sam Bierman discussed contact tracing. She displayed a bar graph that showed, when the county health department contacts those individuals, where they are seeing most have been.

Without listing specific numbers or percentages, the list in order from highest to lowest was:

Healthcare
Restaurants/bars
Other employment
Vacations, retail
Office environment
Factory/warehouse
Education
Other entertainment
Travel
Private gathering
Construction trades
Emergency services employee
Place of worship
Child care setting

Furthermore, Bierman asked people to be straightforward with their answers when contacted.

“This is why it’s so important for us, when we call you, to be honest with us and remember when we contact any individuals who have been exposed to you, we will never reveal any names,” she said. “For the most part we have about 75 percent cooperation with our individuals that we reach out to.

“That is a huge help, because it allows us to figure out where they’ve been and to slow that spread of the disease as to not have anybody else get infected. We appreciate those individuals who have been very cooperative with us and hopefully, moving forward, we’ll have even more cooperation from any cases we contact.”

St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency Director Herb Simmons thanked Bierman for the graph, while discussing a letter he received from a business owner and expressing frustration over people still refusing to wear masks or face coverings.

“I received a letter from a business owner ... I know where you’re coming from. We sympathize with all the business owners out there,” he said. “We say each and every day that we don’t want to see businesses shut down. We’ve got to do our share.

“I saw messages yesterday ... there are those out there who still don’t believe in wearing a mask. If you don’t believe in wearing a mask I guess you don’t believe in washing your hands, either. Shame on you. Until it hits your home, maybe that’s what it’ll take for you to wake up.”

Madison County by the numbers

Madison County has reported a total of 4,642 cases and 112 deaths.

The county’s daily positivity rate Thursday was 17.7%, up from 15.99% on Wednesday. The county’s seven-day positivity rate grew from 8.42% on Wednesday to 9.11% on Thursday.

As of Thursday, there were 22 COVID-19 patients in Madison County hospitals, down from 33 on Wednesday. Four of those patients were on ventilators, down from six on Wednesday. Individuals diagnosed with the virus Thursday ranged in age from younger than 9 years old to their 90s. Of the 74 new cases, 44 were individuals in their 40s or younger.

The county had one zip code report a double digit increase Thursday — 62002 (Alton, East Alton, Godfrey) where 20 new cases were reported for a total of 708.

Illinois reports new cases, deaths

The Illinois Department of Public Health announced 1,953 new cases of the virus and 28 additional virus-related deaths Wednesday.

A total of 255,643 Illinois residents have now tested positive for COVID-19, and 8,242 people have died. More than 4.5 million tests have been conducted for COVID-19 with nearly 49,000 specimens tested within the last 24 hours.

The state’s preliminary seven-day statewide positive rate from Sept. 3-9 is 3.8%, up from 3.7% percent from Wednesday.

As of Wednesday evening, 1,609 people were hospitalized due to COVID-19, up from 1,580 on Tuesday evening. Of those individuals, 346 patients were in the ICU — down from 357 on Tuesday evening — and 141 people were on ventilators — up from 133 on Tuesday evening.

Southwestern Illinois COVID-19 statistics

ZIP code-level numbers below are provided by the state each afternoon at dph.illinois.gov/covid19/covid19-statistics. Madison and Macoupin counties compile their own statistics by ZIP code 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 county health departments provide.

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 the required isolation period in most counties.

Here are the latest available statistics for southwestern Illinois counties:

ST. CLAIR COUNTY

Thursday’s new data: 95 new positives, one new death, 1,019 new tests administered, 55 new recoveries, two fewer hospitalizations

Total overall: 6,516 positives, 179 deaths, 72,227 tests administered, 5,671 recoveries, 44 hospitalizations with three patients on ventilators

ZIP codes with positives:

62059 (Brooklyn): 11
62201 (East St. Louis): 227 (+1)
62203 (East St. Louis, Centreville, Washington Park, Caseyville): 190 (+3)
62204 (East St. Louis): 133 (+3)
62205 (East St. Louis, Alorton, Centreville): 191 (+1)
62206 (East St. Louis, Cahokia): 423 (+1)
62207 (East St. Louis, Centreville, Alorton): 237
62208 (Fairview Heights): 394 (+6)
62220 (Belleville, Smithton): 504 (+9)
62221 (Belleville): 607 (+5)
62223 (Belleville, Swansea): 375 (+5)
62225 (Scott Air Force Base): 29
62226 (Belleville, Swansea): 668 (+4)
62232 (Fairview Heights, Caseyville): 180 (+4)
62239 (Dupo): 91
62240 (Dupo): 31
62243 (Freeburg): 92 (+1)
62254 (Lebanon): 228 (+3)
62255 (Lenzburg): 16
62257 (Marissa): 35
62258 (Mascoutah, Fayetteville): 169 (+4)
62260 (Millstadt): 124 (+6)
62264 (New Athens): 90 (+3)
62269 (O’Fallon): 511 (+8)
62282 (St. Libory): 12 (+3)
62285 (Smithton): 76 (+1)
62289 (Summerfield): 6

MADISON COUNTY

Thursday’s new data: 74 new positives, two new deaths, 418 new tests administered, 164 new recoveries, 11 fewer hospitalizations, two fewer people on ventilators

Total overall: 4,462 positives, 112 deaths, 63,804 tests administered, 2,196 recoveries, 22 hospitalizations with four patients on ventilators

ZIP codes with positives:

62001 (Kaufman, Alhambra): 20
62002 (Alton, East Alton, Godfrey): 708 (+20)
62010 (Bethalto): 215 (+6)
62012 (Godfrey): 15
62018 (Alton, Bethalto, East Alton): 52
62021 (Dorsey): 13 (+1)
62024 (East Alton): 113 (+8)
62025 (Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Pontoon Beach, Roxana): 593 (+7)
62034 (Glen Carbon): 241 (+3)
62035 (Godfrey): 324 (+5)
62040 (Granite City, Pontoon Beach): 682 (+9)
62046 (Hamel): 9
62048 (Edwardsville, Granite City, Roxana, Hartford): 9
62060 (Granite City, Madison, Venice): 110 (+4)
62061 (Marine): 29 (+1)
62062 (Maryville): 95 (+1)
62067 (Moro): 46 (+2)
62074 (New Douglas): 6
62084 (Edwardsville, Wood River, Pontoon Beach, Roxana, South Roxana): 16
62087 (Edwardsville, Roxana, South Roxana, Hartford): 27 (+2)
62090 (Madison, Venice): 30
62095 (Wood River): 151 (+2)
62097 (Prairietown, Worden): 42
62234 (Collinsville, Pontoon Beach, State Park Place): 501 (+1)
62249 (Highland): 284 (+1)
62275 (Pocahontas, Old Ripley, Jamestown): 18
62281 (St. Jacob): 52 (+4)
62293: (St. Morgan): 8
62294 (Troy): 207 (+1)

CLINTON COUNTY

Thursday’s new data: 15 new positives, 14 new recoveries, six fewer hospitalizations

Total overall: 914 positives, 19 deaths, 646 recoveries, seven hospitalizations

ZIP codes with positives:

62215 (Albers, Damiansville): 41
62216 (Aviston): 81 (+1)
62218 (Bartelso): 54 (+1)
62230 (Breese): 139 (+2)
62231 (Carlyle): 186 (+2)
62245 (Germantown): 46 (+1)
62265 (New Baden): 116 (+2)
62293 (Trenton): 106 (+3)
62801 (Centralia): 248 (+6)

RANDOLPH COUNTY

Thursday’s new data: Two new positives, 229 new tests administered, seven new recoveries

Total overall: 821 positives, eight deaths, 10,274 tests administered, 739 recoveries

ZIP codes with positives:

62217 (Baldwin): 14
62233 (Chester): 305 (+1)
62237 (Coulterville): 58
62241 (Ellis Grove): 16
62242 (Evansville): 18
62272 (Percy): 62
62277 (Prairie Du Rocher): 8
62278 (Red Bud): 121 (+1)
62286 (Sparta): 130
62288 (Steeleville): 96
62292 (Tilden): 6
62297 (Walsh): 6
62916 (Campbell Hill): 11

MONROE COUNTY

Thursday’s new data: Six new positives

Total overall: 555 positives, 14 deaths

ZIP codes with positives:

62236 (Columbia): 233
62244 (Fults): 7
62295 (Valmeyer): 24
62298 (Waterloo): 266

MACOUPIN COUNTY

Thursday’s new data: Five new positives, two new recoveries

Total overall: 455 positives, seven deaths, 138 recoveries, three hospitalizations

ZIP codes with positives:

62009 (Benld, Sawyerville, Mount Clare): 13
62012 (Brighton): 73 (+1)
62014 (Bunker Hill): 40
62033 (Gillespie): 78
62063 (Medora, Summerville, Kemper, Rockbridge): 9
62069 (Mount Olive): 30
62088 (Staunton): 85
62626 (Carlinville): 49 (+1)
62640 (Girard): 12
62674 (Palmyra, Barr): 12
62685 (Royal Lakes, Plainview, Shipman): 13
62690 (Virden): 21 (+1)