Southwest Illinois coronavirus positivity rate of 15.2% sets another record
The march of higher COVID-19 testing positivity rates in the metro-east continued Saturday when a new record was set with a 15.2% rate.
This topped the 14.8% rate released by the Illinois Department of Public Health on Friday, which had been the highest level since the coronavirus pandemic began.
The 15.2% positivity rate in the metro-east is based on tests recorded as of Wednesday and it reflects a test positivity seven-day rolling average.
The statistics released Saturday marked the fourth-straight day the positivity rate surpassed 13% after having not reached that level since the pandemic began.
In the latest daily statistics as of Wednesday, 600 people tested positive in the metro-east out of 4,021 tests taken for a daily positivity rate of 14.9%.
The state classifies the metro-east as Region 4, which covers seven counties: St. Clair, Madison, Monroe, Bond, Washington, Clinton and Randolph.
Saturday also marked the 25th straight day the region has been above the 8% threshold that triggered the restrictions already imposed on the seven-county area.
During his daily coronavirus briefing on Facebook on Saturday, St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency director Herb Simmons said residents are looking ahead to Thanksgiving on Nov. 26, and he urged everyone to “make some smart decisions.”
Bryan Whitaker, assistant director of the agency, said his family has already decided to celebrate the holiday separately.
“You just can’t bring those big groups together right now because it places unnecessary risks,” he said. “The last thing I would want to do is be asymptomatic, have the virus not knowingly and then spread it onto my parents or, you know, my young nieces and nephews, people that could be even more vulnerable.”
St. Louis area hospitalizations set record
The St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force on Saturday reported new records were set for hospital admissions and hospitalizations based on statistics compiled as of Thursday for coronavirus patients.
The seven-day moving average of hospital admissions increased from 105 on Friday to 107 Saturday. Also the seven-day moving average of hospitalizations increased from 628 to 653.
These numbers are pulled from the four health systems that are part of the task force: BJC HealthCare, Mercy, SSM Health, St. Luke’s Hospital.
Illinois announces testing record
The Illinois Department of Public Health on Saturday reported 11,028 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus statewide.
The state reported 166 deaths on Saturday but said there had been a delay in death data and 66 of these deaths were actually from Friday.
Overall, Illinois has had 562,985 coronavirus cases and 10,670 deaths.
A daily record number of tests were announced on Saturday with over 114,000 tests recorded.
The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity rate from Nov. 7 to Nov. 13 is 14.7%.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker has said that a statewide stay-at-home order could be on the horizon if COVID-19’s spread doesn’t slow in Illinois.
The state’s driver’s license office will be closed until Dec. 7 because of the statewide surge in COVID case, The Associated Press reported.
ST. CLAIR COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: 188 new positives, two new deaths, 1,446 new tests administered
Total overall: 11,427 positives, 233 deaths, 132,708 tests administered, 9,446 recoveries, 87 patients hospitalized with nine patients on ventilators
Positivity rates: Daily — 13%, down from 13.8% ; seven-day average — 15.2%, up from 11.9%
Additional data: Individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 ranged in age from under 1 to their 90s. A woman in her 70s and a man in his 90s died, both with unknown health conditions.
Congregate living facilities: Cedar Ridge of Lebanon reported a new case for a total of 85 and Mercy Rehab & Care Center in Swansea reported a new case for a total of 25.
MADISON COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: 169 new positives, 1,782 new tests administered, no new deaths
Total overall: 9,560 positives, 172 deaths, 119,990 tests administered, 4,558 recoveries, 80 hospitalizations with 12 patients on ventilators
Additional data: Individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 ranged in age from under 1 to their 90s. Of the 169 new positives, 59 individuals were younger than 40.
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 11): Daily — 18.2%, up from 18.1%; seven-day average — 16.2%, up from 15.7%
CLINTON COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data as of 6 p.m.
Total overall: 2,468 positives, 44 deaths, 1,916 recoveries, 15 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 11): Daily — 16.7%, down from 35.2%; 7-day average — 19%, down from 20.1%
RANDOLPH COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data as of 5:30 p.m.
Total overall: 1,722 positives, 22 deaths, 18,862 tests performed, 1,489 recoveries, 7 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 11): Daily — 6.8%, down from 16.8%; seven-day average — 12.2%, down from 12.5%
MONROE COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: 86 new positives
Total overall: 1,532 positives, 41 deaths, 12 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates as (of Nov. 11): Daily — 15.4% down from 24%; seven-day average — 17.5%, down from 17.8%
BOND COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data as of 6 p.m.
Total overall: 769 positives, 11 deaths, 27,544 tests administered, 2 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 11): Daily — 15%, down from 50%; seven-day average — 20%, up from 19.2%
WASHINGTON COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data as of 6 p.m.
Total overall: 478 positives, 2 deaths, 401 recoveries, 1 hospitalizations
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 11): Daily — 17.7%, down from 21.9%; seven-day average — 18.6%, down from 18.9%
MACOUPIN COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data as of 6 p.m.
Total overall: 1,458 positives, 17 deaths, 617 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 11): Daily — 12.8%, down from 14.7%; 7-day average — 14.9%, down from 15.3%
JERSEY COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data as of 6 p.m.
Total overall: 837 positives, 21 deaths, 603 recoveries, 10,030 tests
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 11): Daily — 22.8%, up from 8.3%; seven-day average — 16.4%, up from 15.7%
PERRY COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data as of 5:30 p.m.
Total overall: 718 positives, 16 deaths, 517 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 11): Daily — 17%, up from 14.4%; 7-day average — 18.7%, down from 20.3%
CALHOUN COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data as of 5:30 p.m.
Total overall: 160 positives, 128 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 11): Daily — 28.6%, up from 24.2%; 7-day average — 10.9%, up from 10.6%
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 Saturday afternoon:
- Illinois: 562,985 cases, 10,670 deaths, 8,986,010 tests
- U.S.: 10,884,591 cases, 245,568 deaths, 4,148,444 recoveries
- World: 53,835,175 cases, 1,309,713 deaths, 34,669,996 recoveries
Testing sites in southwestern Illinois
Here are free COVID-19 testing options:
- 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.
- Saturday, November 21st – St. Clare Church – 1411 Cross Street, O’Fallon, IL
- Sunday, November 22nd – New Life Church – 689 Scott-Troy Road, O’Fallon, IL
- Tuesday & Wednesday, November 24th & 25th – SWIC – 2500 Carlyle Avenue, Belleville, IL
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 14, 2020 at 4:51 PM.
