Southwestern Illinois reports highest single-day COVID-19 case count, 7 new deaths
Region 4 in southwestern Illinois saw an uptick in its COVID-19 positivity rate Thursday, while recording its highest daily case count since the pandemic began.
The Illinois Department of Public Health reported Region 4’s 7-day rolling average positivity rate rose from 10.1% on Wednesday to 10.7% on Thursday. This marked the third-straight day the metro-east’s 7-day rolling average was above 10% and 14th consecutive day it was above 8%.
The region also reported 356 new cases of the virus Thursday, surpassing the previous single-day high of 317 on Oct. 30. Thursday’s numbers represent the third time since Oct. 30 the metro-east’s daily case count has exceeded 300.
In addition, the region reported a daily positivity rate of 14.6% on Thursday, by far the highest percentage since information began being tracked June 11. The previous high was 12.5% on Aug. 22.
The reintroduction of tightened restrictions recently 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.
“This virus is not going away. We’ve got to stay focused. We have to take this serious. We have to all pull in the same direction. Our businesses need our help and you can help them by following the mitigations that are out there,” St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency Director Herb Simmons said during the county’s daily briefing Thursday.
If the positivity rate stays above 8% for the next five 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.
Additionally, the region’s hospital bed capacity was at 29% on Thursday, up from 27% on Wednesday, and its intensive care unit capacity was at 39% on Thursday, up from 36% on Wednesday. If the availability of ICU beds in the region’s hospitals fall below 20%, new restrictions could also be enacted by the state.
State surpasses 10,000 coronavirus deaths
Meanwhile, the state of Illinois surpassed 10,000 COVID-19 related deaths Thursday. The state announced 97 new deaths, bringing the total to 10,030. Also, the IDPH reported 9,935 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total to 447,491.
Also, within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 86,015 tests for a total 8,116,728. As of last night, 3,891 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 772 patients were in the ICU and 343 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from Oct. 29-Nov. 4 is 9.1%.
Illinois reports new cases, deaths Thursday
This information is provided by the Illinois Department of Public Health.
New cases: 9,935 (+2,397)
New deaths: 97 (+42)
New tests: 86,015 (+14,158)
Total cases: 447,491
Total deaths: 10,030
Total tests: 8,116,728
Hospitalizations: 3,891 (+130)
People in ICU: 772 (-4)
People on ventilators: 343 (+16)
Statewide positivity rate (from Oct. 29-Nov. 4): 9.1% (+0.6%)
Thursday’s COVID-19 case breakdown for Region 4
New cases: 363 (+97)
New deaths: 7 (+6) (3 new deaths reported in Clinton County; 2 new deaths reported in Monroe County; 1 new death reported in St. Clair County; 1 new death reported in Madison County)
Daily positivity rate (as of Nov. 2): 14.6% (+4.9%)
7-day rolling average (as of Nov. 2): 10.7% (+0.6%)
Regional hospitalizations: 121 (-12)
Regional patients on ventilators: 14 (-2)
Hospital bed availability: 29% (+2.0%)
ICU bed availability: 39% (+3.0%)
New cases from nearby counties outside Region 4: 95 (-11)
New deaths from nearby counties outside Region 4: 0 (no change from Wednesday)
ST. CLAIR COUNTY
Thursday’s new data: 107 new positives, 1,488 new tests administered, 1 new death, 82 new recoveries, 8 fewer hospitalizations, 2 fewer people on ventilators
Total overall: 9,786 positives, 228 deaths, 121,568 tests administered, 8,739 recoveries, 63 patients hospitalized with 7 patients on ventilators
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 2): Daily — 12.0% (+4.5%); 7-day average — 8.7% (+0.5%)
Additional data: New positives include both males and females from below the age of 1 up into their 90s. Of the 107 new positives, 56 were individuals under the age of 40.
Congregate living facilities: The Esquiline Dammert Care Center at the Shrine in Belleville reported 1 new death; and Freeburg Care Center reported 1 new case.
MADISON COUNTY
Thursday’s new data: 118 new positives, 1 new death, 903 new tests administered, 62 new recoveries, 2 additional patients hospitalized
Total overall: 8,270 positives, 161 deaths, 107,647 tests administered, 3,821 recoveries, 34 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 118 new positives, 61 were individuals under the age of 40.
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 2): Daily — 14.7% (+4.6%) 10.1%; 7-day average — 11.1% (+0.5%)
CLINTON COUNTY
Thursday’s new data: 56 new positives, 3 new deaths, 27 new recoveries, 3 additional patients hospitalized
Total overall: 2,060 positives, 35 deaths, 1,719 recoveries, 7 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 2): Daily — 18.1% (+6.1%); 7-day average — 13.3% (+0.3%)
RANDOLPH COUNTY
Thursday’s new data: 23 new positives, 205 new tests performed, 29 new recoveries, 1 additional patient hospitalized
Total overall: 1,500 positives, 19 deaths, 17,168 tests performed, 1,364 recoveries, 2 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 2): Daily — 22.3% (+11.4%); 7-day average — 13.8% (+1.0%)
MONROE COUNTY
Thursday’s new data: 34 new positives, 2 new deaths
Total overall: 1,156 positives, 36 deaths, 9 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates as (of Nov. 2): Daily — 13.3% (-2.7%); 7-day average — 10.9% (-0.4%)
BOND COUNTY
Thursday’s new data: 13 new positives
Total overall: 596 positives, 10 deaths, 24,707 tests administered, 1 patient hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 2): Daily — 13.6% (+0.7%); 7-day average — 12.8% (+3.5%)
WASHINGTON COUNTY
Thursday’s new data: 12 new positives, 5 new recoveries, 1 additional patient hospitalized
Total overall: 368 positives, 2 deaths, 334 recoveries, 19 hospitalization
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 2): Daily — 29.0% (+18.7%); 7-day average — 15.9% 14.5% (+1.4%)
MACOUPIN COUNTY
Thursday’s new data: 50 new positives, 11 new recoveries
Total overall: 1,057 positives, 15 deaths, 566 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 2): Daily — 6.8% (-2.3%); 7-day average — 7.7% (-0.4%)
JERSEY COUNTY
Thursday’s new data: 12 new positives, 9 new recoveries, 118 new tests administered
Total overall: 521 positives, 21 deaths, 501 recoveries, 9,040 tests
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 2): Daily — 14.9% (-2.2%); 7-day average — 12.4% (+1.7%)
PERRY COUNTY
Thursday’s new data: 25 new positives, 10 new recoveries
Total overall: 574 positives, 16 deaths, 436 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 2): Daily — 32.4% (+9.5%); 7-day average — 19.8 (+2.8%)
CALHOUN COUNTY
Thursday’s new data: 8 new positives, 3 new recoveries
Total overall: 126 positives, 93 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 2): Daily — 24.2% (+9.9%); 7-day average — 18.7% (-0.3%)
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 Thursday afternoon:
- Illinois: 447,491 cases, 10,030 deaths, 8,116,728 tests
- U.S.: 9,810,930 cases, 239,943 deaths, 6,294,44 recoveries
- World: 48,649,224 cases, 1,233,932 deaths, 34,835,684 recoveries
Testing sites in southwestern Illinois
Here are free COVID-19 testing options.
- Friday, Nov. 6: 10 a.m. to noon and 1-3 p.m. at Belle-Clair Fairgrounds, 200 S. Belt E. #2650, Belleville.
- 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 5, 2020 at 4:29 PM.