Coronavirus rate drops again in southwest Illinois, but restrictions remain in place
The positivity rate for coronavirus tests in the metro-east has dropped slightly again, but it still is not low enough to allow COVID-19 restrictions to be lifted, according to statistics released Saturday by the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Region 4’s rolling seven-day average positivity rate was 14% on Saturday, down from from 14.5% on Friday. The new rate is based on tests recorded as of Dec. 9. A region’s positivity rate is its percentage of positive COVID-19 tests versus the number of tests taken over a seven-day period.
The state classifies the metro-east as Region 4, which includes seven counties: St. Clair, Madison, Monroe, Randolph, Clinton, Bond and Washington.
The positivity rate has been on a downward trend in the past week but still has not dipped below the 12% threshold for three consecutive days for restrictions to be reduced.
“We’re not out of the woods yet,” said Herb Simmons, director of the St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency during the county’s daily news briefing on coronavirus on Saturday, but he was encouraged by some of the statistics dropping. He credited this in part to the coronavirus restrictions ordered by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern said he expects a coronavirus vaccine to be available to the public in the county in early to mid-spring. Health care workers and residents in nursing homes will be given the vaccine before it is available to the public.
The county on Saturday said there were three new coronavirus-related deaths: a woman in her 70s and a woman in her 80s, and both had underlying health conditions, and a woman in he 80s with unknown health conditions.
Hospital bed availability in the region remains below the state’s 20% threshold, which was set to avoid overwhelming local health care systems amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The metro-east needs hospital bed availability of more than 20% and a decline in hospitalizations for seven out of 10 days for restrictions to be relaxed.
The region had 217 coronavirus patients hospitalized, according to St. Clair County officials.
The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 87% of staffed hospital beds in the metro-east were in use as of Friday, a decrease from 87.1% on Thursday. Additionally, only 14.5% of the metro-east’s staffed ICU beds were available for patient use Friday, which was the same percentage available on Thursday.
Additionally, the region reported a daily positivity rate of 12.1% on Saturday, up from 10.4%.
The Illinois Department of Public Health provides daily updates on each region’s progress at dph.illinois.gov/regionmetrics.
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.
Illinois reports new cases, deaths Saturday
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: 8,737 (-683)
New deaths: 126 (-64)
New tests: 126,888 (+22,444)
Total cases: 841,688
Total deaths: 14,176
Total tests: 11,713,184
Hospitalizations: 5,048 (-93)
People in ICU: 1,072 (-9)
People on ventilators: 627 (-8)
Statewide positivity rate (from Dec. 5-11): 10.8% (-0.3%)
Saturday’s COVID-19 breakdown for Region 4
New cases: 396 in St. Clair, Madison and Monroe counties. No report from Randolph, Washington, Bond and Clinton counties
New deaths: seven (As of 6 p.m., Madison County reported four deaths, and St. Clair County reported three deaths)
Daily positivity rate (as of Wednesday): 12.1% (+2.3%)
Seven-day rolling average positivity rate (as of Tuesday): 14% (-0.5%)
Regional hospitalizations: 217 (+1) (Provided by St. Clair County)
Regional patients on ventilators: 15 (-4) (Provided by St. Clair County)
Hospital bed availability: 13% (+0.1%)
ICU bed availability: 14.5% (no change)
New cases from nearby counties outside Region 4: None reported as of 6 p.m.
New deaths from nearby counties outside Region 4: None reported as of 6 p.m.
ST. CLAIR COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: 191 positives, three deaths, 2,121 tests administered, 159 recoveries
Total overall: 17,780 positives, 179,605 tests administered, 289 deaths, 15,180 recoveries, 98 patients hospitalized with eight patients on ventilators
Additional data: New positives include residents who range in age from under 1 to 90s. Of the 191 new positives, 109 are persons under 50, including 11 teenagers and 13 children under 10.
Congregate living facilities: Bria of Belleville, two new cases; Caseyville Nursing & Rehab one new case; The Shrine, one new case; Integrity Healthcare of Belleville and Integrity Healthcare of Smithton each had two new cases; Lebanon Care Center had one new case; Mercy Rehab and care in Swansea had seven new cases; and St. Paul’s Home had 14 new cases.
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily: 11% (+3.8%); 7-day average — 14.1% (-0.4%)
MADISON COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: 165 positives, four deaths, 1,368 tests administered, 68 recoveries
Total overall: 17,033 positives, 308 deaths, 166,230 tests administered, 8,795 recoveries, 102 patients hospitalized with 10 patients on ventilators
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 12.1% (+3%); 7-day average — 13.3% (-0.9%)
CLINTON COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data as of 6 p.m.
Total overall: 3,796 positives, 63 deaths, 3,283 recoveries, 16 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 11.3% (-6.7%); 7-day average — 13.3% (+0.3%)
RANDOLPH COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data as of 6 p.m.
Total overall: 2,762 positives, 33 deaths, 2,442 recoveries, five patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 15.2% (-3.9%); 7-day average — 16.8% (+1.1%)
MONROE COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: 40 positives
Total overall: 2,534 positives, 53 deaths, 17 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 15.5% (+10%); 7-day average — 14.8% (-0.2%)
BOND COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data as of 6 p.m.
Total overall: 1,193 positives, 13 deaths, 33,237 tests administered
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 14% (+3.1%); 7-day average — 12.1% (-1.1%)
WASHINGTON COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data as of 6 p.m.
Total overall: 957 positives, six deaths with the latest one reported late Friday of a man in his 70s, 780 recoveries, five patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 16.5% (-9.5%); 7-day average — 22.7% (-2.2%)
MACOUPIN COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data as of 6:30 p.m.
Total overall: 2,867 positives, 60 deaths, 886 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 8.6% (+0.4%); 7-day average — 8.9% (-0.5%)
JERSEY COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data as of 6:30 p.m.
Total overall: 1,555 positives, 23 deaths, 14,969 tests administered, 1,297 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 8.9% (-2.8%); 7-day average — 14% (-0.9%)
PERRY COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data as of 6:30 p.m.
Total overall: 1,477 positives, 37 deaths, 1,115 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily —14.3 (-12%); 7-day average — 17.1% (-1.3%)
CALHOUN COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data as of 6:30 p.m.
Total overall: 345 positives, 1 death, 279 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 28.3% (-2.7%); 7-day average — 14.1% (+0.1%)
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 night:
- Illinois: 841,688 cases, 14,176 deaths, 11,713,184 tests
- U.S.: 16,038,528 cases, 297,697 deaths, 6,246,605 recoveries
- World: 71,616,205 cases, 1,603,472 deaths, 46,802,521 recoveries
Testing sites in southwestern Illinois
Here are some upcoming coronavirus testing options:
Dec. 13: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at New Life Church, 689 Troy Scott Road, O’Fallon (drive-thru only)
Dec. 15-16: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Troy United Methodist Church, 407 Edwardsville Road, Troy
- 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. It is open 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 where people can stay in their cars. It will continue to serve as a COVID testing site and will 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.
Touchette Regional Hospital and Southern Illinois Healthcare Foundation also offer daily testing in Belleville and Wood River. Call 618-646-2596 for an appointment.
This story was originally published December 12, 2020 at 7:46 PM.
