St. Clair County pleads for safety over holiday as COVID-19 cases strain area hospitals
St. Clair County officials are asking residents to think twice before celebrating Thanksgiving with large groups next week, as hospitals in the region struggle under the strain of COVID-19.
St. Clair County Health Department executive director Barb Hohlt said on Saturday during a daily update on COVID-19 that hospitals region-wide are currently overflowing with patients. She pleaded with people to exercise caution and avoid spreading or contracting the virus over the holidays.
“Hospitals are on the verge of getting too full and the staff are worn out and tired,” Hohlt said. “We all need to take this seriously. Stay home and follow those three Ws (watch your distance, wash your hands, wear a mask.)“
Hohlt added people should reconsider visiting family next week during the Thanksgiving holiday, as health officials worry it COVID-19 could be spread during family gatherings.
“Please think twice about that,” she said. “I don’t think anyone wants to be responsible or even think we’re responsible for giving it to someone else.”
The metro-east’s positivity rate dropped below 16% for the first time in a week Saturday, as hospital and intensive care unit availability raised slightly
The Illinois Department of Public Health reported the seven-day rolling average was 15.5% on Saturday, down from 16.1% Friday. Thursday’s rate of 16.4% was the highest rate the metro-east has had since the pandemic began. The previous high of 16.3% was set last Friday.
The new rate is based on tests recorded as of Nov. 18. A region’s positivity rate is its percentage of positive COVID-19 tests out of the number of tests taken over a seven-day period.
The state classifies the metro-east as Region 4, which covers seven counties: St. Clair, Madison, Monroe, Bond, Washington, Clinton and Randolph. County-by-county data is available on the state health department’s website.
IDPH also reported 77% of staffed, intensive care unit beds in the metro-east are in use.
Only 23% of the region’s intensive care unit beds were open, state health officials reported, up from 22% on Friday. Only 16% of the metro-east’s staffed hospital beds were available for patient use, up from 15% Friday.
Under rules set by the Restore Illinois plan, if a region reaches or falls below the 20% threshold, the state may impose tighter restrictions to avoid the possibility of the region running out of hospital and ICU beds.
Tier 3 restrictions went into place statewide on Friday. The third tier tightens restrictions on indoor dining, bars and social gatherings while adding restrictions to casinos, retailers, video gaming and museums.
For those restrictions to be lifted or loosened, the region must report three consecutive days with a seven-day positivity rate of 12% or lower.
Additionally, the region reported a daily positivity rate of 11.7% on Saturday, up from 16.4% on Friday.
Illinois reports new cases, deaths Saturday
This information is provided by the Illinois Department of Public Health.
New cases: 11,891 (-1,121)
New deaths: 127 (+1)
New tests: 120,284 (+4,260)
Total cases: 646,286
Total deaths: 11,430
Total tests: 9,708,982
Hospitalizations: 6,175 (+64)
People in ICU: 1,173 (-23)
People on ventilators: 595 (-9)
Statewide positivity rate (from Nov. 14-Nov. 20): 11.5% (no change)
Saturday’s COVID-19 case breakdown for Region 4
New cases: 438
New deaths: None as of 4 p.m.
Daily positivity rate (as of Nov. 18): 11.7% (-4.7%)
Seven-day rolling average (as of Nov. 18): 15.5% (-0.6%)
Regional hospitalizations: 225
Regional patients on ventilators: 21
Hospital bed availability: 16% (+1.0)
ICU bed availability: 23% (+1.0%)
New cases from nearby counties outside Region 4: 0
New deaths from nearby counties outside Region 4: 0
ST. CLAIR COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: 240 new positives,. 1,642 new tests administered, four new deaths
Total overall: 12,866 positives, 244 deaths, 142,896 tests administered, 10,637 recoveries, 102 patients hospitalized with 9 of those individuals on ventilators
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 18): Daily — 15.3% (-5.2%); seven-day average — 14.2% (-0.3%)
Additional data: New positives include both males and females from below the age of 1 up into their 90s. Of the 240 new positives, 151 were individuals younger than 40.
Congregate living facilities: Caseyville Nursing and Rehab reported three new cases, Cedar Ridge of Lebanon reported two new cases, Mar-Ka Nursing and Rehab reported one additional case, Morningside of Shiloh reported one new case, Swansea Rehab and Care Center reported one new case and Sycamore Village in Swansea reported one new case.
MADISON COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: 160 new positives, 1,728 new tests administered
Total overall: 12,196 positives, 219 deaths, 132,331 tests administered, 5,898 recoveries, 99 hospitalizations with 12 patients on ventilators
Additional data: New positives include both males and females from below the age of 10 up into their 90s. Of the 160 new positives, 94 were individuals younger than 40.
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 18): Daily — 12.2% (-4.0%); seven-day average — 15.6% (-0.9%)
CLINTON COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data as of 4 p.m.
Total overall: 2,875 positives, 52 deaths, 2,171 recoveries, 16 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 18): Daily — 15.4% (-16.3%); seven-day average — 20.0% (-0.3%)
RANDOLPH COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data as of 4 p.m. Saturday
Total overall: 1,974 positives, 26 deaths, 20,615 tests performed, 1,707 recoveries, seven patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 18): Daily — 12.1% (+3.9%); seven-day average — 14.2% (+0.3%)
MONROE COUNTY
Friday’s new data: 38 new positives, one new patient hospitalized
Total overall: 1,763 positives, 42 deaths, 16 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates as (of Nov. 18): Daily — 25.4% (-12.4%); seven-day average — 17.9% (-0.1%)
BOND COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data as of 4 p.m. Saturday
Total overall: 879 positives, 11 deaths, 28,007 tests administered, two patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 18): Daily — 7.5% (+0.3%); seven-day average — 12.8% (-3.1%)
WASHINGTON COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data as of 4 p.m. Saturday
Total overall: 556 positives, two deaths, 494 recoveries, 3 hospitalizations
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 18): Daily — 13.3% (-12.4%); seven-day average — 20.9% (-1.0%)
MACOUPIN COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data as of 4 p.m. Saturday
Total overall: 1,916 positives, 21 deaths, 673 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 18): Daily — 13.7% (+0.5%); seven-day average — 15.3% (-0.2%)
JERSEY COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data as of 4 p.m. Saturday
Total overall: 1,061 positives, 22 deaths, 723 recoveries, 11,365 tests administered
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 18): Daily — 13.1(+0.9%); seven-day average — 15.7% (+1.2%)
PERRY COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data as of 4 p.m. Saturday
Total overall: 882 positives, 18 deaths, 625 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 18): Daily — 18.0% (-12.3%); seven-day average — 13.3% (+0.1%)
CALHOUN COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data as of 4 p.m. Saturday
Total overall: 210 positives, 142 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 18): Daily — 17.1% (-7.6%); 7-day average — 16.0% (-0.7%)
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: 646,286 cases, 11,430 deaths, 9,708,982 tests
- U.S.: 12,019,960 cases, 255,414 deaths, 4,457,930 recoveries
- World: 57,898,891 cases, 1,377,484 deaths, 37,056,212 recoveries
Testing sites in southwestern Illinois
Here are free COVID-19 testing options:
Saturday, Nov. 21: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. St. Clair of Assisi Church, 1411 Cross St., O’Fallon.
Sunday, Nov. 22: 8 a.m.-4 p.m New Life Church, 689 Scott Troy Rd #1907, O’Fallon.
Tuesday, Nov. 24 and Wednesday, Nov. 25: 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Drive-thru only at SWIC, 2500 Carlyle Ave, Belleville
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.
This story was originally published November 21, 2020 at 4:01 PM.