Thanksgiving holiday spike could be on the horizon in southwest Illinois, officials say
St. Clair County officials say the region will have to wait and see on how the Thanksgiving holiday will affect COVID-19 cases and deaths over the next week, but warned another spike could be on its way.
County Emergency Management Agency Director Herb Simmons said such a spike could end up overwhelming area hospitals that have already been strained over the past month.
Last week, several area health officials spoke on the county’s daily COVID-19 briefing warning that many hospitals in the region wouldn’t be able to handle another spike of patients.
The metro-east’s positivity rate saw a slight drop Friday, while regional hospital and intensive care unit bed availability hit record lows.
The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 86.6% of staffed hospital beds in the metro-east were in use as of Friday, up from 84.4% Thursday. Additionally, only 16.9% of the metro-east’s staffed hospital beds were available for patient use, down from 17.3% Thursday.
Meanwhile, the 7-day positivity rate for COVID-19 tests in southwestern Illinois has decreased eight days in a row.
The rolling average was 13.6% on Friday, down from 13.8% on Thursday. The new rate is based on tests recorded as of Nov. 24. A region’s positivity rate is its percentage of positive COVID-19 tests versus the number of tests taken over a 7-day period.
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.
Over the past weeks, officials have warned about the possibility of the region running low on hospital and ICU beds, prompting some area hospitals to temporarily cease elective surgeries. More recently, officials have publicly worried that the Thanksgiving holiday could lead to another spike in cases and deaths.
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.
Additionally, the region reported a daily positivity rate of 14.2% on Friday, down from 16.5% on Thursday.
Illinois reports new cases, deaths Friday
This information is provided by the Illinois Department of Public Health.
New cases: 12,022 (-4,448)
New deaths: 66 (-65)
New tests: 107,556 (-30,426)
Total cases: 705,063
Total deaths: 12,029
Total tests: 10,289,223
Hospitalizations: 5,829 (-203)
People in ICU: 5,829 (-9)
People on ventilators: 698 (-26)
Statewide positivity rate (from Nov. 20-Nov. 26): 10.1% (-1.9%)
Friday’s COVID-19 breakdown for Region 4
New cases: 883 new positives
New deaths: 9 (Madison County reported eight deaths. St. Clair County reported one death)
Daily positivity rate (as of Nov. 23): 14.2% (-2.3%)
Seven-day rolling average (as of Nov. 23): 13.6% (-0.2%)
Regional hospitalizations: 225 (-10)
Regional patients on ventilators: 24 (-5)
Hospital bed availability: 13.4% (-2.2%)
ICU bed availability: 16.9% (-0.4%)
New cases from nearby counties outside Region 4: 0
New deaths from nearby counties outside Region 4: 0
ST. CLAIR COUNTY
Friday’s new data (Nov. 26-27): 415 new positives, 3,400 new tests administered, one new death
Total overall: 14,273 positives, 248 deaths, 153,896 tests administered, 11,837 recoveries, 98 patients hospitalized with 11 on ventilators
Additional data: New positives include both males and females from below the age of 1 up into their 100s. Of the 415 new positives, 249 were individuals under the age of 40.
Congregate living facilities: Caritas Family Solutions reported four new cases, Caseyville Nursing and Rehab reported seven new cases, Cedarhurst of Shiloh reported two new cases, Cedar Ridge of Lebanon reported 15 new cases, Integrity Healthcare in Belleville reported seven new cases, Integrity Healthcare in Smithton reported one new case, Mercy Rehab and Nursing in Swansea reported one new case and New Athens Home for the Aged reported four new cases.
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 24): Daily — 13.8% (-1.7%); 7-day average — 12.8% (-0.2%)
MADISON COUNTY
Friday’s new data (Nov. 26-27): 362 new confirmed positives 76 new probable cases, 8 new deaths, 3,651 new tests administered
Total overall: 13,598 positives, 249 deaths, 143,073 tests administered, 6,239 recoveries, 97 hospitalizations with 13 patients on ventilators
Additional data: New positives include both males and females from below the age of 1 up into their 90s. Of the 78 new positives, 249 were individuals under the age of 40.
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 24): Daily — 12.7% (-3.5%); 7-day average — 13.7% (-0.4%)
CLINTON COUNTY
Friday’s new data: no new data as of 4 p.m.
Total overall: 3,109 positives, 55 deaths, 2,390 recoveries, 13 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 24): Daily —16.6% (-7.9%); 7-day average — 15.8% (-1.6%)
RANDOLPH COUNTY
Friday’s new data: no new data as of 4 p.m.
Total overall: 2,162 positives, 27 deaths, 21,848 tests performed, 1,872 recoveries, 6 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 24): Daily — 18.1% (+12.5%); 7-day average — 14% (+1.5%)
MONROE COUNTY
Friday’s new data: 30 new positives
Total overall: 2,041 positives, 43 deaths, 10 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates as (of Nov. 24): Daily — 10.5% (-7.3%); 7-day average — 14.2% (-1.4%)
BOND COUNTY
Friday’s new data: no new data as of 4 p.m.
Total overall (as of Friday): 952 positives, 11 deaths, 30,585 tests administered, 2 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 24): Daily — 21.7% (+7.4%); 7-day average — 10.6% (2.4%)
WASHINGTON COUNTY
Friday’s new data: no new data as of 4 p.m.
Total overall: 629 positives, two deaths, 539 recoveries, 6 hospitalizations
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 24): Daily — 24.3% (-2.2%); 7-day average — 22% (+1.3%)
MACOUPIN COUNTY
Friday’s new data: no new data as of 4 p.m.
Total overall: 2,070 positives, 23 deaths, 701 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 24): Daily — 8.0% (-4.8%); 7-day average — 11.4% (-1.3%)
JERSEY COUNTY
Friday’s new data: no new data as of 4 p.m.
Total overall: 1,118 positives, 22 deaths, 900 recoveries, 11,784 tests administered
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 24): Daily — 12.3% (+2.6%); 7-day average — 14.1% (0.2%)
PERRY COUNTY
Friday’s new data: no new data as of 4 p.m.
Total overall: 1,014 positives, 20 deaths, 719 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 24): Daily — 29.5% (+8.8%); 7-day average — 17.3% (no changes)
CALHOUN COUNTY
Friday’s new data: no new data as of 4 p.m.
Total overall: 240 positives, 1 death, 184 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Nov. 24): Daily — 10.5% (-15.4%); 7-day average — 11.1% (-2.9%)
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 Friday afternoon:
- Illinois: 705,063 cases, 12,029 deaths, 10,289,223 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.
This story was originally published November 27, 2020 at 4:50 PM.