St. Clair County sees decreases in COVID-19 cases, positivity rate Wednesday
St. Clair County reported encouraging COVID-19 statistics during Wednesday’s daily press conference.
County officials announced a daily positivity rate of 10.3%, the lowest since Nov. 18, when it was 10.1% . St. Clair County also saw its daily case count drop from 221 on Tuesday to 169 on Wednesday.
“Hopefully this is a new trend,” County Board Chairman Mark Kern said of the positivity rate during the briefing. “Better numbers today. Fewer positives. Let’s hope some of those mitigations are working and continue to work.”
St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency Director Herb Simmons also was encouraged, while noting Region 4’s positivity rate, which stayed at 15.1%.
“The regional positivity rate is what we need to get down, and we’ll continue to work on that,” he said. “Team St. Clair, we continue to ask you to support sharing this, get the word out there. As (Kern) said, hopefully some of the mitigations are working. We get encouraged by days like this, but we can’t let our foot off the gas.
“We’ve been really focused on the fallout possibly from Thanksgiving going into Christmas, so we’ll continue to watch that.”
St. Clair County did report two new deaths, bringing its total to 280 since the pandemic began. The county now has a total of 17,074 cases.
Metro-east positivity rate static as hospitals stay filled
The metro-east’s regional hospital and intensive care unit bed availability dropped for a second-straight day Wednesday, while state officials reported 179 new COVID-19 deaths.
The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 84.4% of staffed hospital beds in the metro-east were in use as of Wednesday, an increase from 82.8% on Tuesday. Additionally, only 18.6% of the metro-east’s staffed ICU beds were available for patient use Wednesday, down from 19.8% on Tuesday.
This marks two back-to-back days of decreases after the state health department had reported increased hospital bed and ICU availability in the metro-east for four consecutive days prior to Tuesday, according to the department’s latest available data.
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.
As previously noted, Region 4’s rolling seven-day average positivity rate was 15.1% on Wednesday, showing no change from Tuesday’s rate. The new rate is based on tests recorded as of Dec. 6. A region’s positivity rate is its percentage of positive COVID-19 tests versus the number of tests taken over a seven-day period.
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 and upcoming gatherings during the December holidays 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 12.6% on Wednesday, down from 14.1% on Wednesday.
Illinois reports new cases, deaths Wednesday
This information is provided by the Illinois Department of Public Health. The number in parentheses shows the difference from the previous day’s increase or total.
New cases: 8,256 (+314)
New deaths: 179 (+34)
New tests: 92,737 (+15,168)
Total cases: 812,430
Total deaths: 13,366
Total tests: 11,367,345
Hospitalizations: 5,284 (+85)
People in ICU: 1,176 (+105)
People on ventilators: 647 (+21)
Statewide positivity rate (from Dec. 2-8): 9.6% (-0.3%)
Wednesday’s COVID-19 breakdown for Region 4
New cases (includes data from Monday & Tuesday from Bond County; and data from Tuesday from Washington County): 608 (+34)
New deaths (includes data from Monday & Tuesday from Bond County): 7 (-6) (Madison County reported 3 new deaths; St. Clair County reported 2 new deaths; Monroe County reported 1 new death; Randolph County reported 1 new death; Bond County reported 1 new death; and Washington County reported 1 new death.)
Daily positivity rate (as of Sunday): 12.6% (-1.5%)
Seven-day rolling average positivity rate (as of Sunday): 15.1% (no change)
Regional hospitalizations: 203 (+5)
Regional patients on ventilators: 21 (+2)
Hospital bed availability: 15.6% (-1.6%)
ICU bed availability: 18.6% (-1.2%)
New cases from nearby counties outside Region 4: 65 (-64)
New deaths from nearby counties outside Region: 4 (+3) (Macoupin County reported 4 new deaths.)
ST. CLAIR COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: 169 new positives, 2 new deaths, 1,645 new tests administered, 246 new recoveries, 1 fewer patient hospitalized, 2 additional patients on ventilators
Total overall: 17,074 positives, 172,947 tests administered, 280 deaths, 14,503 recoveries, 85 patients hospitalized with 6 patients on ventilators
Additional data: New positives include residents who ranged in age from under 10 up to the 90s. Of the 169 new positives, 66 were individuals under the age of 40.
Congregate living facilities: BRIA of Belleville reported 1 new case; Brightly Senior Living in Mascoutah reported 1 new case; Caseyville Nursing & Rehab reported 1 new case; Integrity Healthcare of Belleville reported 2 new cases; Mar-Ka Nursing and Rehab in Mascoutah reported 1 new case; Mercy Rehab and Care Center in Swansea reported 2 new cases; and St. Paul’s Home in Belleville reported 5 new cases.
Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 13.1% (-0.6%); 7-day average — 15.4% (-0.1)
MADISON COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: 203 new positives, 3 new deatths, 1,266 new tests administered, 101 new recoveries, 2 additional patients hospitalized
Total overall: 16,353 positives, 293 deaths, 160,797 tests administered, 8,121 recoveries, 90 patients hospitalized with 15 patients on ventilators
Additional data: New positives include residents who ranged in age from under 9 to up to the 90s. Of the 203 new positives, 105 were individuals under the age of 40.
Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 11.8% (-1.8%); 7-day average — 14.5% (-0.2)
CLINTON COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: 67 new positives, 112 new recoveries, 2 fewer patients hospitalized
Total overall: 3,751 positives, 62 deaths, 3,136 recoveries, 18 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 8.0% (-7.3%); 7-day average — 13.3% (-0.9%)
RANDOLPH COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: 24 new positives, 1 new death, 24 new recoveries, 1 fewer patient hospitalized
Total overall: 2,674 positives, 32 deaths, 23,539 tests administered, 2,368 recoveries, 4 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 26.3% (+2.5); 7-day average — 15.9% (+1.7)
MONROE COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: 26 new positives, 1 new death, 3 fewer patients hospitalized
Total overall: 2,423 positives, 52 deaths, 22 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 13.0% (-2.5%); 7-day average — 16.3% (+0.6)
BOND COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data (includes Monday & Tuesday): 87 new positives, 1 new death, 1,668 new tests administered
Total overall: 1,106 positives, 12 deaths, 31,569 tests administered
Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 8.9% (-2.1%); 7-day average — 14.3% (-0.2)
WASHINGTON COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data (includes Tuesday): 32 new positives, 1 new death, 50 new recoveries, 2 additional patients hospitalized
Total overall: 882 positives, 5 deaths, 755 recoveries, 3 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 13.1% (-23.1%); 7-day average — 24.9% (-4.2%)
MACOUPIN COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: 31 new positives, 4 new deaths, 14 new recoveries
Total overall: 2,778 positives, 55 deaths, 858 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 19.6% (-7.5%); 7-day average — 10.3% (no change)
JERSEY COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: 26 new positives, 213 new tests administered, 26 new recoveries
Total overall: 1,555 positives, 14,969 tests administered, 23 deaths, 1,297 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 19.8% (-8.9%); 7-day average — 15.6% (-0.3)
PERRY COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: No new data
Total overall: 1,372 positives, 33 deaths, 1,016 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 13.1% (-5.0); 7-day average — 18.5% (-0.6%)
CALHOUN COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: 8 new positives, 4 new recoveries
Total overall: 331 positives, 1 death, 265 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 12.5% (-33.0%); 7-day average — 13.2% (-0.9)
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: 812,430 cases, 13,366 deaths, 11,367,345 tests
- U.S.: 15,591,709 cases, 293,398 deaths, 9,087,069 recoveries
- World: 68,587,502 cases, 1,563,487 deaths, 47,482,977 recoveries
Testing sites in southwestern Illinois
Here are some upcoming coronavirus testing options:
- Saturday, Dec. 12: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Madison County Health Department at 101 E. Edwardsville Road, Wood River
Saturday, Dec. 12: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Godfrey Village Hall at 6810 Gofrey Road, Godfrey
- Sunday, Dec. 13: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at New Life Church, 689 Troy Scott Road, O’Fallon (drive-thru only)
- Every Tuesday and Thursday: 9-11 a.m. COVID-19 rapid testing at the Clinton County Fairgrounds, 1899 Methodist St., Carlyle
In addition, the testing site at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Center in East St. Louis has been moved to the St. Clair Square Mall behind Dillards, still from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
St. Clair County Health Department Executive Director Barb Hohlt said it will be a 4-tent drive thru to where people can stay in their car. It will continue to serve as a COVID testing site and also be a vaccine site once that’s available to the general public, she said.
The Illinois Department of Public Health will continue to deploy mobile testing teams to locations in East St. Louis, including to 4601 State St., from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Sunday and Monday.
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 December 9, 2020 at 5:08 PM.