Southwestern IL region reports 15 COVID deaths as hospital bed, ICU availability drops
The metro-east’s regional hospital and intensive care unit bed availability fell Tuesday after several days of improving, while regional officials reported 15 new COVID-19 deaths.
The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 82.8% of staffed hospital beds in the metro-east were in use as of Tuesday, up from 82.5% Monday. Additionally, 19.8% of the metro-east’s staffed hospital beds were available for patient use, down from 20.1% Monday.
Prior to Tuesday, the state health department had reported increased hospital bed and ICU availability in the metro-east for four consecutive days, 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.
Region 4’s rolling seven-day average positivity rate was 15.1% on Tuesday, showing no change from Monday’s rate. The new rate is based on tests recorded as of Dec. 5. 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 14.1% on Tuesday, up from 13.6% on Monday.
Illinois reports new cases, deaths Tuesday
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: 7,910 (-781)
New deaths: 145 (+55)
New tests: 77,569 (+18,256)
Total cases: 804,174
Total deaths: 13,487
Total tests: 11,274,608
Hospitalizations: 5,199 (+9)
People in ICU: 1,071 (-52)
People on ventilators: 626 (-22)
Statewide positivity rate (from Dec. 1-7): 9.9%
Tuesday’s COVID-19 breakdown for Region 4
New cases: 574
New deaths: 15 (Madison County reported eight new deaths, St. Clair County reported three new deaths, Washington County reporting one, Clinton County reported one and Monroe County reported two)
Daily positivity rate (as of Saturday): 14.1% (+0.5)
Seven-day rolling average positivity rate (as of Saturday): 15.1% (no change)
Regional hospitalizations: 198 (-12)
Regional patients on ventilators: 19 (-3)
Hospital bed availability (as of Saturday): 17.2% (-0.3)
ICU bed availability: 19.8% (-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
Tuesday’s new data: 221 new positives, 1,567 new tests administered and three new deaths
Total overall: 16,905 positives, 171,302 tests administered, 278 deaths, 14,257 recoveries, 86 patients hospitalized with 4 patients on ventilators
Additional data: New positives include residents who ranged in age from under 10 up to the 90s. Of the 221 new positives, 93 were individuals under the age of 40.
Congregate living facilities: Caseyville Nursing & Rehab reported four new cases, Cedarhurst of Shiloh reported one new case, Lebanon Terrace one reported one new case, Mark-Ka Nursing and Rehab reported one new case, Mercy Rehab and Care Center Swansea reported one new case, St. Paul’s Home reported four new cases and Swansea Rehab and Care Center reported one new case.
Positivity rates (as of Saturday): Daily — 13.7% (-1.3); 7-day average — 15.5% (+0.2)
MADISON COUNTY
Tuesday’s new data: 206 new positives, 8 new deaths, 1,169 new tests administered
Total overall: 16,150 positives, 290 deaths, 159,531 tests administered, 8,020 recoveries, 88 patients hospitalized with 1615 patients on ventilators
Additional data: New positives include residents who ranged in age from under 9 up to the 90s. Of the 206 new positives, 135 were individuals under the age of 40.
Positivity rates (as of Saturday): Daily — 13.6% (+0.6); 7-day average — 14.7% (-0.2)
CLINTON COUNTY
Tuesday’s new data: 35 new positives, one new death
Total overall: 3,684 positives, 62 deaths, 3,024 recoveries, 20 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Saturday): Daily — 15.3% (+5.5); 7-day average — 14.2% (+0.3)
RANDOLPH COUNTY
Tuesday’s new data: 63 new positives
Total overall: 2,649 positives, 31 deaths, 23,539 tests administered, 2,344 recoveries, 5 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Saturday): Daily — 23.8% (+13.6); 7-day average — 14.2% (+0.6)
MONROE COUNTY
Tuesday’s new data: 18 new positives, two new deaths
Total overall: 2,397 positives, 51 deaths, 25 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Saturday): Daily — 15.5% (no change); 7-day average — 15.7% (-0.2)
BOND COUNTY
Tuesday’s new data: No new data as of 4 p.m.
Total overall: 1,106 positives, 12 deaths, 31,569 tests administered, one patient hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Saturday): Daily — 11.0% (+7.0); 7-day average — 14.5% (+0.4)
WASHINGTON COUNTY
Tuesday’s new data: 31 new positives
Total overall: 850 positives, four deaths, 705 recoveries, 1 patient hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Saturday): Daily — 36.2% (+9.8); 7-day average — 29.1% (+1.4)
MACOUPIN COUNTY
Tuesday’s new data: No new data as of 4 p.m.
Total overall: 2,700 positives, 51 deaths, 838 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Saturday): Daily — 12.1% (+6.0); 7-day average — 10.3% (-0.7)
JERSEY COUNTY
Tuesday’s new data: No new data as of 4 p.m.
Total overall: 1,384 positives, 13,589 tests administered, 22 deaths, 1,169 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Saturday): Daily — 28.7% (-19.2); 7-day average — 15.9% (-0.3)
PERRY COUNTY
Tuesday’s new data: No new data as of 4 p.m..
Total overall: 1,347 positives, 32 deaths, 968 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Saturday): Daily — 18.1% (-3.0); 7-day average — 19.1% (-0.8)
CALHOUN COUNTY
Tuesday’s new data: No new data as of 4 p.m.
Total overall: 298 positives, one death, 242 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Saturday): Daily — 45.5% (+39.8); 7-day average — 14.1% (-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 Tuesday afternoon:
- Illinois: 804,174 cases, 13,487 deaths, 11,274,608tests
- 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)
- Saturday, Dec. 12: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Madison County Health Department at 101 E. Edwardsville Rd., Wood River
Saturday, Dec. 12: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Godfrey Village Hall at 6810 Gofrey Rd., 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
The Illinois Department of Public Health also 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 December 8, 2020 at 4:24 PM.