Southwestern Illinois sees increase in positivity rate, officials warn restaurants to comply
As the positivity rate in the metro east increased on Sunday, county officials urged restaurant establishments to comply with current mitigation requirements.
“We don’t want to be punitive, but we have to protect the public’s health,” said Barb Hohlt, executive director of St. Clair County Health Department.
The region’s daily postivity rate increased to 17.5%, up from 14.6% on Saturday, on Sunday. Additionally, the region’s seven-day rolling average positivity rate on Sunday increased to 15.3%, up from 14.2% on Saturday. 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.
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. A less than 12% positivity rate (seven-day rolling average) for three consecutive days is part of what’s needed for restrictions to be relaxed, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
As of Saturday, at least two restaurant establishments in St. Clair County were forced to shut down due to violating Tier 3 restrictions on indoor dining. Lotawata Creek in Fairview Heights and Reifschneider’s Grill & Grape in Freeburg were ordered to shut down by government officials. Syberg’s in O’Fallon was also temporarily closed, but it was not immediately clear why.
Earlier this week, 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.
“The first time we get a complaint, we call the facility and make sure they understand what the rules are,” Holt said. “(The) second time we get a complaint, we are on site, either ourselves or through the sheriff’s department, and we issue them a violation notice, specifically a written notice saying what the violations are. Third complaint, we do the same. They actually get a written report as a violation notice, and then the fourth time, we’ll issue another notice.
“After that, as we’ve done Friday afternoon, we have issued several food permit suspension orders to several facilities that have continuously violated mitigation orders.”
Holt said the health department will continue to follow the same protocol for other restaurants that violate statewide restrictions.
“Our hearts go out to the business community that are being affected by this,” St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern said. “The bars and the restaurants specifically have been hit terribly by this, but most of the bars and the restaurants are complying. It’s really not fair that some try to cheat. They keep our numbers high, and that’s a problem, so having everyone comply with the executive order helps us all to move into another phase much more quickly.”
Hospital, ICU beds become more available
On Sunday, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported 84% of staffed hospital beds in the metro-east were in use as of Saturday, down from 85.7% on Friday. Additionally, 18.6% of the metro-east’s ICU beds were available for patient use Saturday, up from 18% 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. Saturday’s figures marked the region’s 14th consecutive day under the 20% threshold for hospital bed availability and the 13th consecutive day under that threshold for ICU bed availability.
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.
Illinois reports new cases, deaths Sunday
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: 7,598 (-2,289)
New deaths: 76 (-132)
New tests: 79,538(-23,140)
Total cases: 787,573
Total deaths: 13,255
Total tests: 11,101,214
Hospitalizations: 5,160(-171)
People in ICU: 1,103(-31)
People on ventilators: 643 (-51)
Statewide positivity rate (from Nov. 29–Dec. 5): 11.8%
Sunday’s COVID-19 breakdown for Region 4
New cases: 416 (-154; only includes St. Clair, Madison and Monroe counties)
New deaths: 0 (-8; only includes St. Clair, Madison and Monroe counties)
Daily positivity rate (as of Thursday): 17.5% (+2.9)
Seven-day rolling average positivity rate (as of Thursday): 15.3% (+1.1)
Regional hospitalizations: 217 (-2)
Regional patients on ventilators: 24 (-1)
Hospital bed availability (as of Saturday): 16% (+1.5%)
ICU bed availability: 18.6% (+0.6)
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
Sunday’s new data: 203 new positives, 1,437 new tests administered and 2 additional patients hospitalized
Total overall: 16,430 positives, 168,565 tests administered, 263 deaths, 13,595 recoveries, 102 patients hospitalized with eight patients on ventilators
Additional data: New positives include residents who ranged in age from under 10 up to the 80s. Of the 203 new positives, 104 were individuals under the age of 40.
Congregate living facilities: BRIA of Belleville reported one new case, Mercy Rehab and Care Center in Swansea reported two new cases and St. Paul’s Home reported three new cases
Positivity rates (as of Thursday): Daily — 14.1% (+1.8); 7-day average — 14.4% (+0.2)
MADISON COUNTY
Sunday’s new data: 217 new positives, 1,692 new tests administered and 101 new recoveries
Total overall: 15,715 positives, 272 deaths, 156,726 tests administered, 7,786 recoveries, 84 patients hospitalized with 16 patients on ventilators
Additional data: New positives include residents who ranged in age from under 9 up to the 90s. Of the 217 new positives, 145 were individuals under the age of 50.
Positivity rates (as of Thursday): Daily — 14.3% (-3.8%); 7-day average — 14.9% (+0.9)
CLINTON COUNTY
Sunday’s new data: No new data as of 7:30 p.m.
Total overall: 3,557 positives, 59 deaths, 2,851 recoveries, 24 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Thursday): Daily — 21.1% (+11.2); 7-day average — 14.4% (+1.9)
RANDOLPH COUNTY
Sunday’s new data: No new data as of 7:30 p.m.
Total overall: 2,483 positives, 29 deaths, 23,539 tests administered, 2,220 recoveries, four patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Thursday): Daily — 13.7% (+3.3%); 7-day average — 14.4% (+0.3)
MONROE COUNTY
Sunday’s new data: 41 new positives
Total overall: 2,363 positives, 49 deaths, 21 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Thursday): Daily — 27.8% (+10.4); 7-day average — 17.2% (+1.5)
BOND COUNTY
Sunday’s new data: No new data as of 7:30 p.m.
Total overall: 1,106 positives, 12 deaths, 31,569 tests administered, one patient hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Thursday): Daily — 17.8% (-3); 7-day average — 14.8% (+1.6)
WASHINGTON COUNTY
Sunday’s new data: No new data as of 7:30 p.m.
Total overall: 822 positives, three deaths, 657 recoveries, 30 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Thursday): Daily — 36.2% (+9.8); 7-day average — 29.1% (+1.4)
MACOUPIN COUNTY
Sunday’s new data: No new data as of 7:30 p.m.
Total overall: 2,607 positives, 41 deaths, 811 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Thursday): Daily — 7.5% (-4.4); 7-day average — 13.7% (-1.5)
JERSEY COUNTY
Sunday’s new data: No new data as of 7:30 p.m.
Total overall: 1,384 positives, 13,589 tests administered, 22 deaths, 1,169 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Thursday): Daily — 12% (+0.3); 7-day average — 16.2% (-0.2)
PERRY COUNTY
Sunday’s new data: No new data as of 7:30 p.m.
Total overall: 1,273 positives, 32 deaths, 878 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Thursday): Daily — 21.1% (-1.8); 7-day average — 19.9% (+2.1)
CALHOUN COUNTY
Sunday’s new data: No new data as of 7:30 p.m.
Total overall: 298 positives, one death, 242 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Thursday): Daily — 3.1% (-26.2); 7-day average — 20.1% (-2.1)
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: 787,573 cases,13,255 deaths, 11,101,214 tests
- U.S.: 15,017,349 cases, 288,081 deaths, 8,797,632 recoveries
- World: 66,818,756 cases, 1,533,018 deaths, 42,946,246 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.
This story was originally published December 6, 2020 at 8:04 PM.
