Southwestern Illinois sees increases in COVID-19 positivity rate, hospitalizations
The metro-east’s COVID-19 testing positivity rate rose to nearly 14% on Thursday, while the region’s hospitalizations increased as well.
The Illinois Department of Public Health reported Thursday the metro-east, or Region 4 as the state refers to it, has a 13.9% testing positivity rate, up from 13.4% on Wednesday. It marked the second-straight day the positivty rate surpassed 13% after having not reached that level since the pandemic began prior to Wednesday.
Additionally, it marked the 23rd-straight day the region has been above the 8% threshold that triggered the restrictions already imposed on the seven-county area.
Wednesday was the end of a 14-day observation period put in place by the state health department to track the region’s positivity rate. According to the state rules, more restrictions could be imminent as the region did not get its positivity rate below 8%.
The new restrictions would further restrict indoor dining, bars and social gatherings.
“The numbers are going up,” St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern said during Thursday’s daily briefing. “We heard from the governor and the state earlier ... the IDPH is recommending if people don’t have to go out, don’t. We’re going to go back basically to where we were in April, which is where we are with the numbers right now.
“We’ve got to get these numbers down. Right now, we’re in major public spread. It’s only growing. We’re very concerned with the holiday coming on that this will continue to grow.”
As Kern noted, state health department is currently recommending all Illinoisans stay home as much as possible over the next three weeks and only leave the house when needed. In a statement Wednesday, officials said people should only leave to run essential errands, like going to the pharmacy or getting groceries.
In light of this recommendation, Kern said the St. Clair County Courthouse will be closed starting Monday, Nov. 16.
“Essential services still will be offered. Employees who can work from home are going to work from home. Others will still be reporting to the courthouse. So you’ll still be able to get — if you have something you really need — it’ll still come from the courthouse,” Kern said.
Moving forward, St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency Director Herb Simmons — who applauded the decision to close the courthouse — said this week that in light of the rising numbers, additional restrictions for Region 4 are inevitable.
A region’s positivity rate is its percentage of positive COVID-19 tests versus the number of tests taken over a seven-day period. Region 4 includes St. Clair, Madison, Monroe, Bond, Washington, Clinton and Randolph counties.
On Oct. 28, the state re-implemented tier 1 restrictions from Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Restore Illinois plan after the metro-east reported three consecutive days with an 8% positivity or higher. Currently, all 11 regions in Illinois are subject to at least tier 1 restrictions.
Additionally, the region reported a daily positivity rate of 17.3% on Thursday, up from 15% on Wednesday.
While concerned about the numbers spike, Kern remained optimistic with a vaccine forthcoming.
“Let’s get tested, let’s try to get this virus under control and keep everyone safe,” he said. “It’s a terrible thing. The vaccination is on its way. It will be approved, we’re told, by the end of this month. It’ll take a while to get it out into the general public, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. We just have to get there ... we have to get through winter. It’s going to be a significant effort.
“Since they discovered this vaccine, and since they think it’s 90% effective ... at least all signs are pointing to the fact that by July 4 hopefully — don’t hold me to that — it looks certainly like we should be back to where we want to be and going to baseball games again and watching the Cardinals winning the World Series.
“Let’s hope this is the last return of the coronavirus in big waves.”
Hospitalization numbers, meanwhile, remain a growing concern.
The region’s hospital bed capacity was at 22% on Thursday, down from 24% on Wednesday, and its intensive care capacity was at 35% on Thursday, down from 36% on Wednesday. State officials say new restrictions could result if the availability of ICU beds in the region’s hospitals falls below 20%.
As of Thursday, St. Clair County had 81 patients hospitalized with the virus — down from 83 on Wednesday — with 11 patients on ventilators — up from 10 on Wednesday. Nearby Madison County reported on Thursday 80 patients were hospitalized due to COVID-19 — up from 71 on Wednesday — with 13 individuals on ventilators — up from 12 on Wednesday.
In the region, 177 patients are hospitalized — up from 169 on Wednesday — with 23 individuals on ventilators — up from 22 Wednesday.
The combination of Halloween, election day and now the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday could mean more spikes for the region.
“We had people on the page again last night saying, ‘I’ve got so and so that works at a hospital and they’re not overloaded.’ Don’t believe all of that,” Simmons said. “We’ve got the numbers. We’ve talked to the CEO, the presidents of the hospitals. We talk with the health department.
“We need to get those hospitalizations under control. We can only do that by stopping the spread of this or slowing it down. We have to be better prepared. We have to put the brakes on. Otherwise, these numbers are going to be through the roof. We’re going to be like some of the states we border.”
Added Kern, “23 people on ventilators in the region. And when you get put on a ventilator, you have serious issues.”
Illinois reports new cases, deaths Thursday
This information is provided by the Illinois Department of Public Health.
New cases: 12,702 (+45)
New deaths: 43 (-102)
New tests: 100,617 (+7,153)
Total cases: 536,542
Total deaths: 10,477
Total tests: 8,765,100
Hospitalizations: 5,258 (+234)
People in ICU: 956 (+5)
People on ventilators: 438 (+34)
Statewide positivity rate (from Nov. 5-11): 12.6% (+0.2%)
Thursday’s COVID-19 case breakdown for Region 4
New cases (includes some data from Nov. 11): 468 (-72)
New deaths (includes some data from Nov. 11: 13 (+13) (Clinton County reported 8 new deaths from Nov. 11-12); Madison County reported 4 new deaths; Monroe County reported 1 new death)
Daily positivity rate (as of Nov. 9): 17.3% (+2.3%)
Seven-day rolling average (as of Nov. 9): 13.9% (+0.5%)
Regional hospitalizations: 177 (+8)
Regional patients on ventilators: 23 (+1)
Hospital bed availability: 22% (-2.0%)
ICU bed availability: 35% (-1.0%)
New cases from nearby counties outside Region 4 (includes some data from Nov. 11): 148 (+70)
New deaths from nearby counties outside Region 4: 0 (-1)
ST. CLAIR COUNTY
Thursday’s new data: 150 new positives, 1,738 new tests administered, 69 new recoveries, 2 fewer hospitalizations, 1 additional person on a ventilator
Total overall: 11,031 positives, 230 deaths, 129,978 tests administered, 9,270 recoveries, 81 patients hospitalized with 11 patients on ventilators
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 9): Daily — 15.0% (+1.2%); seven-day average — 11.5% (+1.4%)
Additional data: New positives included individuals under the age of 10 and up to the age of 90. Of the new 150 positives, 62 individuals in their 40s or younger.
Congregate living facilities: Cedar Ridge Health & Rehab Center in Lebanon reported 1 new case; Esquiline Dammert Care Center at the Shrine in Belleville reported 2 new cases; and St. Paul’s Senior Community in Belleville reported 2 new cases.
MADISON COUNTY
Thursday’s new data: 117 new positives, 4 new deaths, 1,399 new tests administered, 35 new recoveries, 9 new hospitalizations, 1 additional patient on a ventilator
Total overall: 9,219 positives, 169 deaths, 116,394 tests administered, 4,058 recoveries, 80 hospitalizations with 13 patients on ventilators
Additional data: New positives included individuals under the age of 10 and up to the age of 100. Of the new 117 positives, 58 individuals in their 40s or younger.
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 9): Daily — 18.4% (+4.0%); seven-day average — 14.8% (+0.7%)
CLINTON COUNTY
Thursday’s new data (Nov. 11-12): 118 new positives, 8 new deaths, 36 new recoveries, 4 new hospitalizations
Total overall: 2,410 positives, 44 deaths, 1,870 recoveries, 16 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 9): Daily — 25.3% (+14.1%); 7-day average — 18.4% (+1.1%)
RANDOLPH COUNTY
Thursday’s new data: 33 new positives, 219 new tests administered, 30 new recoveries, 1 fewer hospitalization
Total overall: 1,671 positives, 22 deaths, 18,452 tests performed, 1,489 recoveries, 8 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 9): Daily — 9.3% (-10.9%); seven-day average — 11.0% (-0.9%)
MONROE COUNTY
Thursday’s new data: 50 new positives, 1 new death, 1 fewer hospitalization
Total overall: 1,420 positives, 39 deaths, 10 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates as (of Nov. 9): Daily — 18.4% (-10.2%); seven-day average — 17.0% (+0.4%)
BOND COUNTY
Thursday’s new data: No new data
Total overall: 740 positives, 10 deaths, 27,069 tests administered, 1 patient hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 9): Daily — 14.0% (-1.7%); seven-day average — 16.7% (-0.3%)
WASHINGTON COUNTY
Thursday’s new data: No new data
Total overall: 449 positives, 2 deaths, 375 recoveries, 19 hospitalizations
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 9): Daily — 20.0% (-10.0%); seven-day average — 17.6% (-0.5%)
MACOUPIN COUNTY
Thursday’s new data: 79 new positives, 4 new recoveries
Total overall: 1,458 positives, 17 deaths, 617 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 9): Daily — 21.8% (+7.0%); 7-day average — 15.3% (+2.2%)
JERSEY COUNTY
Thursday’s new data: 28 new positives, 35 new recoveries, 149 new tests administered
Total overall: 837 positives, 21 deaths, 603 recoveries, 10,030 tests
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 9): Daily — 16.8 (+8.8%); seven-day average — 17.7% (+0.4%)
PERRY COUNTY
Thursday’s new data (Nov. 11-12): 32 new positives, 32 new recoveries
Total overall: 703 positives, 16 deaths, 517 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 9): Daily — 11.9% (-12.4%); 7-day average — 20.6% (-2.5%)
CALHOUN COUNTY
Thursday’s new data: 9 new positives, 22 new positives
Total overall: 160 positives, 128 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 9): Daily — 5.3% (+4.5%); 7-day average — 8 (-1.3%)
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: 536,542 cases, 10,477 deaths, 8,765,100 tests
- U.S.: 10,733,210 cases, 247,580 deaths, 6,654,530 recoveries
- World: 52,776,765 cases, 1,294,170 deaths, 38,862,616 recoveries
Testing sites in southwestern Illinois
Here are free COVID-19 testing options:
- Saturday, Nov. 14: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Belleville West High School, 4063 Frank Scott Parkway West, Belleville.
- Sunday, Nov. 15: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Belleville West High School, 4063 Frank Scott Parkway West, Belleville.
- Tuesday, Nov. 17: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Monroe County Annex, 901 Illinois Ave., Waterloo.
- Wednesday, Nov. 18: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Monroe County Annex, 901 Illinois Ave., Waterloo.
Additionally, the Illinois Department of Public Health 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 12, 2020 at 5:12 PM.