Southwestern Illinois sees another decrease in COVID-19 hospital bed availability
As hospital bed availability in the metro-east sees another drop, St. Clair County officials issued an additional plea for people to social distance while celebrating Thanksgiving throughout the day.
Thursday marked the ninth consecutive day the region’s hospital bed capacity was below the state’s 20% threshold, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
“If people aren’t taking the precautions today for this holiday, it may be too late for some,” St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern said. “If you had a party early, but you still have a chance to mitigate this evening, wear those masks, wash those hands, watch social distancing and really keep the crowd to your immediate family that you’re living with.”
“If we raise those numbers, towards Christmas it will be a number that will be difficult for the hospitals to handle. As we’ve discussed, it isn’t so much about the beds, it isn’t much about the equipment, it’s finding the nurses and the doctors and all the people that are involved who are putting their lives on the line to take care of everyone, to be able to find enough of them to take care of the people that are gonna need them.”
Earlier this week, local health officials warned about the possibility of hospitals being filled to capacity and understaffed with COVID-19 patients if cases continue to rise.
“Taking these precautions is gonna keep people out of these hospitals,” Kern said. “By doing this, by wearing these masks you’re really being a part of team St. Clair, you’re helping out your community, you’re helping out your neighbor and making sure that there will be personnel and facilities available for them should they catch anything, whether it’s a heart attack or a stroke or COVID.”
Daily positivity rate increases, fewer hospital and ICU beds available
Although the metro-east’s seven-day rolling average decreased again, the area’s daily positivity rate rose. Availability of hospital and ICU beds also fell slightly.
The region’s daily positivity rate was 16.5% on Thursday, up from 14.6% on Wednesday. The new rate is based on tests recorded as of Nov. 23.
Additionally, only 17.3% of the region’s intensive care unit capacity was open, which is down 1% from Wednesday. Hospital bed availability decreased to 15.6%, down from 16.5% on Wednesday.
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, Nov. 20. The third tier tightens restrictions on indoor dining, bars and social gatherings while adding restrictions to casinos, retailers, video gaming and museums.
The seven-day positivity rate for COVID-19 tests in the metro-east fell Thursday, marking the sixth consecutive day the rate has dropped. Thursday’s rate was 13.8%, down from 14.1% on Wednesday. A region’s positivity rate is its percentage of positive COVID-19 tests versus the number of tests taken over a 7-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.
St. Louis hospitalizations see record increases
Across the river, St. Louis hospitals witnessed record number of hospitalizations on Thursday, according to the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force.
Inpatient confirmed COVID-19 hospitalizations increase to 897 on Thursday, up from 895 on Wednesday, which is a new daily record. The task force also reported a new record of seven-day rolling average of hospitalizations, from 869 on Wednesday to 876 on Thursday. Additionally, the number of COVID-19 patients in ICUs increased to 195 on Thursday, up from 187 on Wednesday. ICUs are operating at 86% of their total staffed capacity
Dr. Alex Garza, director of the metro region’s coronavirus task force, reported earlier this week that health care workers are spending time trying to find intensive care unit beds for patients anywhere between St. Louis and Chicago, including Hannibal, Missouri, hours away.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force was formed in April to coordinate the efforts of four health systems: BJC HealthCare, Mercy, SSM Health and St. Luke’s Hospital. The group’s statistics include results from BJC HealthCare’s metro-east hospitals: Alton Memorial Hospital, Memorial Hospital in Belleville and Memorial Hospital East in Shiloh.
Illinois reports new cases, deaths Thursday
This information is provided by the Illinois Department of Public Health.
New cases: 12,022 (+644)
New deaths: 131 (-24)
New tests: 107,556 (-6,677)
Total cases: 697,489
Total deaths: 11,963
Total tests: 10,212,093
Hospitalizations: 6,032 (-101)
People in ICU: 1,224 (+16)
People on ventilators: 724 (+45)
Statewide positivity rate (from Nov. 19-Nov. 25): 12% (+1.5%)
Thursday’s COVID-19 breakdown for Region 4
No new numbers in cases and deaths due to limited data available because of the holiday
Daily positivity rate (as of Nov. 23): 16.5% (+1.9%)
Seven-day rolling average (as of Nov. 23): 13.8% (-0.3%)
Regional hospitalizations: 235 (-9)
Regional patients on ventilators: 27 (-2)
Hospital bed availability: 15.6% (-0.9%)
ICU bed availability: 17.3% (-1%)
ST. CLAIR COUNTY
Thursday’s new data: no new data released due to holiday
Total overall: 13,858 positives, 247 deaths, 150,496 tests administered, 11,327 recoveries, 97 patients hospitalized with 12 on ventilators
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 23): Daily — 15.5% (+2.2%); 7-day average — 13% (-0.1%)
MADISON COUNTY
Thursday’s new data: no new data released due to holiday
Total overall: 13,160 positives, 241 deaths, 139,422 tests administered, 6,185 recoveries, 113 hospitalizations with 17 patients on ventilators
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 23): Daily — 16.2% (+2.3%); 7-day average — 14.1% (-0.3%)
CLINTON COUNTY
Thursday’s new data: no new data as of 6 p.m.
Total overall: 3,109 positives, 55 deaths, 2,390 recoveries, 13 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 23): Daily —24.5% (+4.7%); 7-day average — 17.4% (no change from Wednesday)
RANDOLPH COUNTY
Thursday’s new data: no new data as of 6 p.m.
Total overall: 2,162 positives, 27 deaths, 21,848 tests performed, 1,872 recoveries, 6 patients hospitalized (change after data is released)
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 23): Daily — 5.6% (-11.4%); 7-day average — 12.5% (-0.4%)
MONROE COUNTY
Thursday’s new data: 42 new positives
Total overall: 2,011 positives, 43 deaths, 10 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates as (of Nov. 23): Daily — 17.8% (-3.9%); 7-day average — 15.6% (-0.6%)
BOND COUNTY
Thursday’s new data: no new data as of 6 p.m.
Total overall (as of Friday): 952 positives, 11 deaths, 30,585 tests administered, 2 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 23): Daily — 14.3% (+9.4%); 7-day average — 8.2% (-1.5%)
WASHINGTON COUNTY
Thursday’s new data: no new data as of 6 p.m.
Total overall: 629 positives, two deaths, 539 recoveries, 6 hospitalizations
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 23): Daily — 26.5% (-5.5%); 7-day average — 20.7% (+0.3%)
MACOUPIN COUNTY
Thursday’s new data: No new data as of 6 p.m.
Total overall: 2,070 positives, 23 deaths, 701 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 23): Daily — 12.8% (-0.6%); 7-day average — 12.7% (no change from Wednesday)
JERSEY COUNTY
Thursday’s new data: No new data as of 6 p.m.
Total overall: 1,118 positives, 22 deaths, 900 recoveries, 11,784 tests administered
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 23): Daily — 9.7% (-6.4%); 7-day average — 13.9% (-1%)
PERRY COUNTY
Thursday’s new data: No new data as of 6 p.m.
Total overall: 1,014 positives, 20 deaths, 719 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 23): Daily — 20.7% (-7.9%); 7-day average — 17.3% (+0.2%)
CALHOUN COUNTY
Thursday’s new data: No new data as of 6 p.m.
Total overall: 240 positives, 1 death, 184 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 23): Daily — 2.3% (-3.4%); 7-day average — 13.8% (-3.9%)
Editor’s Note: The number of new COVID-19 cases for ZIP codes in each county are reported on Mondays. Information comes from county sources and the IDPH website.
State, nation, world COVID-19 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: 697,489 cases, 11,963 deaths, 10,212,093 tests
- U.S.: 13,204,796 cases, 269,039 deaths, 7,823,957 recoveries
- World: 60,776,978 cases, 1,428,228 deaths, 38,916,583 recoveries
Testing sites in southwestern Illinois
Here are some upcoming COVID-19 testing options:
Friday, Nov. 27- Saturday, Nov. 28: Bethalto Christian Church, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., 724 E. Bethalto Blvd., Bethalto
Sunday, Nov. 29-Monday, Nov. 30: 4601 State St., 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., 4601 State St., East St. Louis
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.
