Madison County reports 7 new COVID-19 deaths, St. Clair reports 1 as cases increase
St. Clair County reported 263 new cases of COVID-19 and one new death on Saturday, while Madison County reported 246 new cases and seven new deaths.
The two counties now have reported 31,725 coronavirus cases and 535 deaths since the pandemic began. St. Clair County has 16,227 cases and 263 deaths, while Madison County has 15,498 cases and 272 deaths.
Saturday’s case total also marked the 14th time since Nov. 20 that St. Clair County has reported at least 200 new daily cases. Madison County, meanwhile, has reported at least 200 new daily cases 11 times since Nov. 22.
St. Clair County reported its virus-related hospitalizations increased from 90 on Friday to 100 on Saturday, though three fewer patients were on ventilators. In Madison County, there were 15 new hospitalizations and two additional patients on ventilators.
Additional St. Clair County notes from this week
After St. Clair County ordered two bars to shut down earlier this week, at least three additional establishments were ordered to close after violating COVID-19 restrictions.
H’s Bar on Dutch Hollow Road near Belleville and George’s Pub near East Carondelet, both had their liquor licenses suspended from Dec. 3 through Dec. 31 and were fined $1,000. Lotawata Creek in Fairview Heights and Reifschneider’s Grill & Grape in Freeburg were also ordered to shut down by government officials. Syberg’s in O’Fallon was temporarily closed, but it was not immediately clear why Saturday afternoon.
Metro-east positivity rate decreases slightly as hospitals fill
The metro-east’s positivity rate decreased slightly Saturday.
Region 4’s rolling seven-day average was 14.2%, down from 14.4% on Friday, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported. The new rate is based on tests recorded as of Dec. 2. 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.
Meanwhile, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported 85.7% of staffed hospital beds in the metro-east were in use as of Saturday, down from 86.5% Friday. Additionally, 18% of the metro-east’s ICU beds were available for patient use Saturday, up from 17.7% on Friday.
Under rules set by the Restore Illinois plan, if a region falls below the 20% threshold of clinically staffed hospital beds, the state may impose tighter restrictions. Friday’s figures marked the region’s 13th consecutive day under the 20% threshold for hospital bed availability and the 12th consecutive day under that threshold for ICU bed availability.
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 14.6% on Saturday, down from 16.1% on Friday.
Illinois reports new cases, deaths Saturday
This information is provided by the Illinois Department of Public Health. The number in parentheses shows the percentage-point difference from the previous day’s increase or total.
New cases: 9,887 (-638)
New deaths: 208 (+60)
New tests: 102,678 (-9,956)
Total cases: 779,975
Total deaths: 13,179
Total tests: 11,021,676
Hospitalizations: 5,331 (-122)
People in ICU: 1,134 (-19)
People on ventilators: 694 (-9)
Statewide positivity rate (from Nov. 28–Dec. 4): 10.3%
Saturday’s COVID-19 breakdown for Region 4
New cases: 570 (-236; only includes St. Clair, Madison and Monroe counties)
New deaths: Eight (St. Clair County reported 1 new death; Madison County reported seven new deaths)
Daily positivity rate (as of Wednesday): 14.6% (-1.5)
Seven-day rolling average positivity rate (as of Wednesday): 14.2% (-0.2)
Regional hospitalizations: 219 (+20)
Regional patients on ventilators: 25 (-1)
Hospital bed availability (as of Friday): 13.5%
ICU bed availability: 18% (+0.3)
New cases from nearby counties outside Region 4: No new data
New deaths from nearby counties outside Region 4: No new data
ST. CLAIR COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: One new death, 263 new positives, 2,137 new tests administered, 10 additional patients hospitalized, three fewer patients on ventilators
Total overall: 16,227 positives, 167,128 tests administered, 263 deaths, 13,595 recoveries, 100 patients hospitalized with eight patients on ventilators
Additional data: New positives include residents who ranged in age from under 1 up to the 90s. Of the 263 new positives, 131 were individuals under the age of 40.
Congregate living facilities: Cambridge House in O’Fallon reported one new case; Caseyville Nursing and Rehab reported 10 new cases; Freeburg Care Center reported two new cases; Integrity Healthcare of Belleville reported three new cases; Integrity Healthcare of Smithton reported one new case; Mercy Rehab and Care Center in Swansea reported one new case; and New Athens Home for the Aged reported one new case
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 12.3% (-6.7); 7-day average — 14.4% (+0.2)
MADISON COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: 246 new positives, seven new deaths, 1,962 new tests administered, 114 new recoveries, 15 new hospitalizations, two more patients on ventilators
Total overall: 15,498 positives, 272 deaths, 155,034 tests administered, 7,685 recoveries, 92 patients hospitalized with 17 patients on ventilators
Additional data: No new data
Positivity rates (as of Friday): Daily — 14.7% (+2.2); 7-day average — 15.7% (+2)
CLINTON COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data
Total overall: 3,557 positives, 59 deaths, 2,851 recoveries, 24 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 9.9% (-6.2); 7-day average — 12.5% (-3.4)
RANDOLPH COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data
Total overall: 2,483 positives, 29 deaths, 23,539 tests administered, 2,220 recoveries, four patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 17.5% (-7.1); 7-day average — 14.1% (-0.1)
MONROE COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: 61 new positives, two new hospitalizations
Total overall: 2,322 positives, 49 deaths, 22 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 17.4% (+10); 7-day average — 15.7% (-0.2)
BOND COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data
Total overall: 1,106 positives, 12 deaths, 31,569 tests administered, one patient hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 20.8% (+6.6); 7-day average — 13.2% (+0.7)
WASHINGTON COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data
Total overall: 822 positives, three deaths, 657 recoveries, 30 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 26.4% (-4.8); 7-day average — 27.7% (+0.2)
MACOUPIN COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data
Total overall: 2,607 positives, 41 deaths, 811 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 11.9% (-0.4); 7-day average — 15.2% (+2.4)
JERSEY COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data
Total overall: 1,384 positives, 13,589 tests administered, 22 deaths, 1,169 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 11.7% (-10.5); 7-day average — 16.4% (+0.6)
PERRY COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data
Total overall: 1,273 positives, 32 deaths, 878 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 25.7% (+2.8); 7-day average — 17.8% (+0.7)
CALHOUN COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data
Total overall: 298 positives, one death, 242 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 29.3% (+16); 7-day average — 22.2% (+4.9)
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 Saturday afternoon:
- Illinois: 779,975 cases, 13,179 deaths, 11,021,67 tests
- U.S.: 14,557,003 cases, 281,059 deaths, 5,470,389 recoveries
- World: 66,442,818 cases, 1,527,209 deaths, 66,442,818 recoveries
Testing sites in southwestern Illinois
Here are some upcoming coronavirus testing options:
Dec. 7-10: 10 a.m. to noon at the Bond County Fairgrounds in Greenville. Enter only from the north on Ridge Road and exit to the south (Only rapid antigen testing available. Some tests will produce false negatives. Anyone who has symptoms and tests negative should have a PCR test done.)
- Tuesday, Dec. 8: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at McKendree University in front of The HETT, 400 N. Alton St., Lebanon (drive-thru only)
- Wednesday, Dec. 9: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at McKendree University in front of The HETT, 400 N. Alton St., Lebanon (drive-thru only)
- 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 four-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.
