St. Clair County officials concerned about hospital bed availability for COVID patients
St. Clair County reported a drop in some COVID-19 metrics, while concerns arose about the decreasing number of available hospital beds.
On the positive front, the county’s cases total dropped from 109 on Tuesday to 71 on Wednesday, while the daily positivity rate fell in St. Clair County from 8.5% on Tuesday to 7.5% on Wednesday, and the 7-day rolling average dipped from 8.4% on Tuesday to 8.2% on Wednesday.
But Sam Bierman, St. Clair County Health Department emergency response coordinator, expressed concern during Wednesday’s daily briefing about the county’s the growing hospital surge. As of Wednesday, St. Clair County had 71 people hospitalized due to COVID-19, with nine of them on ventilators.
“Every hospital is feeling the same burden right now, which is they are running out of beds,” Bierman said. “We are seeing it at the outlying hospitals as well as the bigger hospitals. That has always been an indicator to us, a red light, a red flag that is going up. We are seeing it and they are certainly feeling it.”
Bierman added the issue goes beyond simply having available beds.
“It’s having the staff, having the equipment,” she said. “Ventilators are not just sitting in a room somewhere that they have an endless supply of them. It takes specialty staff to work with those patients who require that level of care. There’s a lot that goes into it, not just having a physical, open bed.’’
As for Region 4 overall, the metro-east’s positivity rate dropped slightly but remained far from the 6.5% benchmark needed for the state to consider lifting restrictions put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19.
The Illinois Department of Public Health reported Region 4’s 7-day rolling average positivity rate fell from 10.2% on Tuesday to 10.1% on Wednesday. The reintroduction of tightened restrictions came as a result of the region reporting three consecutive days above 8%.
Region 4 includes St. Clair, Madison, Monroe, Bond, Washington, Clinton and Randolph counties. The region saw its daily positivity rate drop from 11.2% on Tuesday to 10.1% on Wednesday.
“10.1 is too high. That’s too high. We’ve got to get it down. It’s all about teamwork. We wish it was going to end tomorrow, but it’s not going to,” St. Clair County Emergency Management Director Herb Simmons said during Wednesday’s daily briefing. “227 people in our county, alone, have lost their lives to this. This thing is real. We’ve got to get these numbers back down. The higher they get, the longer it takes to get them down.”
The positivity rate data reported by the state is delayed by three days, so the rate as of Nov. 1 was the most recent data available Wednesday. It was the 13th consecutive day the metro-east had a seven-day rolling average positivity rate above 8%.
If the positivity rate stays above 8% for the next seven days, additional mitigations could be imposed in the metro-east that would further restrict dining, bars, social gatherings, retail and salon businesses and reduce elective surgeries and visitation at regional hospitals.
During Tuesday’s press conference, Simmons said if numbers don’t improve, those additional measures likely will be announced next week.
“Next Monday we’ll be looking at the possibility of more mitigation if the numbers keep going up this week,” Simmons said. “We just need everybody in Team St. Clair to spread the word.”
The region’s hospital bed capacity was at 27% on Wednesday, up from 26% on Tuesday, and its intensive care unit capacity was at 36%, the same as Tuesday. If the availability of ICU beds in the region’s hospitals fall below 20%, new restrictions could also be enacted by the state.
Illinois reports new cases, deaths Wednesday
This information is provided by the Illinois Department of Public Health.
New cases: 7,538 (+1,022)
New deaths: 55 (-13)
New tests: 71,857 (-10,578)
Total cases: 437,566
Total deaths: 9,933
Total tests: 8,030,713
Hospitalizations: 3,761 (+167)
People in ICU: 776 (+21)
People on ventilators: 327 (+1)
Statewide positivity rate (from Oct. 28-Nov. 3): 8.5% (+0.3%)
Wednesday’s COVID-19 case breakdown for Region 4
New cases: 266 (-29)
New deaths: 1 (-2) (1 death reported in St. Clair County)
Daily positivity rate (as of Nov. 1): 9.7% (-1.5%)
7-day rolling average (as of Nov. 1): 10.1% (-0.1%)
Regional hospitalizations: 133 (+1)
Regional patients on ventilators: 16 (+2)
Hospital bed availability: 27% (+1.0%)
ICU bed availability: 36% (no change from Tuesday)
New cases from nearby counties outside Region 4 (includes cases from Nov. 1-3 from Perry County): 106
New deaths from nearby counties outside Region 4: 0
ST. CLAIR COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: 71 new positives, 807 new tests administered, 1 new death, 56 new recoveries, 4 new hospitalizations, 2 additional people on ventilators
Total overall: 9,679 positives, 227 deaths, 120,013 tests administered, 8,657 recoveries, 71 patients hospitalized with 9 patients on ventilators
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 1): Daily — 7.5% (-1.0%); 7-day average — 8.2% (-0.2%)
Additional data: New positives include both males and females from below the age of 1 up into their 90s. Of the 71 new positives, 27 were individuals under the age of 40.
Congregate living facilities: Bradford Place in Swansea reported 2 new cases; The Esquiline at the Shrine in Belleville reported 1 new death and 2 new cases; and Mar-Ka Nursing & Rehabilitation in Mascoutah reported 4 new cases.
MADISON COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: 120 new positives, 792 new tests administered, 57 new recoveries
Total overall: 8,152 positives, 160 deaths, 106,744 tests administered, 3,759 recoveries, 32 hospitalizations with 7 patients on ventilators
Additional data: New positives include both males and females from under the age of 10 into their 90s. Of the 120 new positives, 42 were individuals under the age of 40.
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 1): Daily — 10.1% (-1.8%); 7-day average — 10.6% (no change from Tuesday)
CLINTON COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: 46 new positives, 54 new recoveries, 41fewer hospitalization
Total overall: 2,004 positives, 32 deaths, 1,692 recoveries, 4 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 1): Daily — 12.0% (-9.6%); 7-day average — 13.0% (-0.4%)
RANDOLPH COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: 8 new positives, 29 new recoveries
Total overall: 1,477 positives, 19 deaths, 16,963 tests performed, 1,335 recoveries, 1 patient hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 1): Daily — 10.9% (+3.8%); 7-day average — 12.8% (+0.4%)
MONROE COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: 12 new positives, 2 new hospitalizations
Total overall: 1,122 positives, 34 deaths, 9 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates as (of Nov. 1): Daily — 16.0% (+5.2%); 7-day average — 11.3% (+0.6%)
BOND COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: No new data
Total overall: 583 positives, 10 deaths, 24,015 tests administered, one patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 1): Daily — 12.9% (-7.1%); 7-day average — 9.3% (-0.1%)
WASHINGTON COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: 9 new positives, 7 new recoveries
Total overall: 368 positives, 2 deaths, 329 recoveries, 1 hospitalization
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 1): Daily — 10.3% (-3.0%); 7-day average — 14.5% (-1.7%)
MACOUPIN COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: 46 new positives, 9 new recoveries
Total overall: 1,007 positives, 15 deaths, 555 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 1): Daily — 9.1% (1.3%); 7-day average — 8.1% (-0.6%)
JERSEY COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: 15 new positives, 9 new recoveries, 260 new tests administered
Total overall: 521 positives, 21 deaths, 492 recoveries, 9,040 tests
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 1): Daily — 17.1% (+11.4%); 7-day average — 10.7% (+2.2%)
PERRY COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data (from Nov. 1-4): 41 new positives, 37 new recoveries
Total overall: 549 positives, 16 deaths, 426 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 1): Daily — 22.9% (+12.8%); 7-day average — 17.0 (+0.7%)
CALHOUN COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: 4 new positives, 1 new recovery
Total overall: 110 positives, 90 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 1): Daily — 14.3% (+14.3%); 7-day average — 19.0% (-0.2%)
Editor’s Note: The zip codes for each county are reported every Monday and show how many new cases have been reported since the previous Monday. These numbers are according to some counties and IDPH’s website.
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 Wednesday afternoon:
- Illinois: 437,566 cases, 9,933 deaths, 8,030,713 tests
- U.S.: 9,706,838 cases, 238,847 deaths, 6,128,586 recoveries
- World: 48,172,460 cases, 1,225,280 deaths, 34,512,631 recoveries
Testing sites in southwestern Illinois
Here are free COVID-19 testing options.
- Sunday, Nov. 8: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at McKendree University, 701 College Road, Lebanon.
No appointment is necessary. Masks are required.
The Illinois Department of Public Health also offers free walk-up and drive-thru COVID-19 testing seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (or until capacity limits are met each day) at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Center, Argonne Drive in East St. Louis (Interstate 64 west, exit 4A).
Capacity is limited. Hours of operation are subject to change based on available equipment. For more information, visit dph.illinois.gov/testing.
Additionally, Touchette Regional Hospital and Southern Illinois Healthcare Foundation offer daily testing in Belleville and Wood River. Call 618-646-2596 for an appointment.
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:
- 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 November 4, 2020 at 5:12 PM.