Southwestern IL counties report 400 new COVID-19 cases since Christmas Eve
Metro-east health officials on Saturday reported 400 new COVID-19 diagnoses in their communities and 13 deaths to the respiratory disease.
Some counties included statistics from multiple days in the numbers they announced Saturday, following the holidays. Washington County reported data from three days; St. Clair County reported data from two.
Local leaders don’t yet know if there will be a surge in diagnoses following December holidays, including Christmas. It will take “a couple of weeks” to find out, Herb Simmons, director of the St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency, said during Saturday’s county COVID-19 briefing.
Bryan Whitaker, assistant director of the local agency, said officials are most concerned about transmission from people who contracted the new coronavirus and have no symptoms of COVID-19.
“We hope somebody wouldn’t knowingly feeling not well go hang out with their family or friends,” Whitaker said during the briefing. “The ones that we really worry about are the ones that don’t know they have it yet.”
Face masks and distance are recommended around others to prevent the virus from spreading, which can happen when an infected person coughs, sneezes, talks or breathes.
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: 3,293 (-2,449)
New deaths: 66 (-90)
New tests: 54,462 (-44,496)
Total cases: 934,142
Total deaths: 15,865
Total tests: 12,939,386
Hospitalizations: 4,021 (-331)
People in ICU: 874 (-54)
People on ventilators: 494 (-44)
Statewide positivity rate (from Dec. 19-25): 8.5% (-0.1)
Saturday’s breakdown for Region 4
New cases (as of 6:30 p.m. on Saturday): 400
New deaths (as of 6:30 p.m. on Saturday): 13
Daily positivity rate (as of Wednesday): 11.9% (+1.3)
Seven-day rolling average positivity rate (as of Wednesday): 11.6% (-0.1)
Regional hospitalizations: 181 (-8) (provided by St. Clair County)
Regional patients on ventilators: 14 (-1) (provided by St. Clair County)
Hospital bed availability: 19% (+3.1)
ICU bed availability: 18.6% (+0.9)
ST. CLAIR COUNTY
Saturday’s new data (from Dec. 25-26): 256 positives, 6 deaths, 2,510 tests administered, 379 recoveries, 2 patients hospitalized
Total overall: 20,035 positives, 312 deaths, 201,724 tests administered, 18,228 recoveries, 103 patients hospitalized with 10 patients on ventilators
Additional data: 111 of the 256 people who tested positive Dec. 25-26 are under the age of 40.
Congregate living facilities: BRIA of Belleville reported 2 new cases; Caseyville Nursing and Rehab reported 1 new case; Cedarhurst of Shiloh reported 1 new case; Cedar Ridge of Lebanon reported 1 new case and 1 death; Freeburg Care Center reported 3 new cases and 1 death; Integrity Healthcare of Smithton reported 2 new cases; Mercy Rehab and Care Center in Swansea reported 9 new cases and 2 deaths; and Morningside of Shiloh reported 7 new cases.
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 10.3% (+0.8); 7-day average — 10% (-0.2)
MADISON COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: 58 positives, 6 deaths, 889 tests administered, 107 recoveries
Total overall: 19,812 positives, 356 deaths, 186,805 tests administered, 10,711 recoveries, 52 patients hospitalized with 4 patients on ventilators
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 14.5% (+4.8); 7-day average — 12.6% (+0.3)
CLINTON COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data
Total overall: 4,267 positives, 75 deaths, 3,695 recoveries, 13 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 8.5% (-5); 7-day average — 10.9% (-1.1)
RANDOLPH COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: 26 positives
Total overall: 3,189 positives, 43 deaths, 2,935 recoveries, 6 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 9.9% (-3.1); 7-day average — 12.6% (-0.2)
MONROE COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: 31 positives
Total overall: 3,002 positives, 56 deaths, 26 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 14.3% (+4.9); 7-day average — 13.8% (-0.2)
BOND COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data
Total overall: 1,595 positives, 16 deaths, 34,922 tests administered
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 9.3% (-17.9); 7-day average — 14.7% (+0.5)
WASHINGTON COUNTY
Saturday’s new data (from Dec. 24-26): 29 positives, 1 death
Total overall: 1,145 positives, 20 deaths, 1,012 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 14.1% (+4.2); 7-day average — 14.6% (+1.1)
MACOUPIN COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: 48 positives, 1 death
Total overall: 3,287 positives, 80 deaths, 1,496 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 5.9% (-3.6); 7-day average — 7.1% (-0.9)
JERSEY COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data
Total overall: 1,823 positives, 26 deaths, 17,213 tests administered, 1,636 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 2.4% (-7.2); 7-day average — 8.9% (-1.3)
PERRY COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data
Total overall: 1,981 positives, 47 deaths, 1,492 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 9.5% (-12.3); 7-day average — 22% (-0.3)
CALHOUN COUNTY
Saturday’s new data: No new data
Total overall: 381 positives, 3 deaths, 355 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Wednesday): Daily — 4.3% (-52.8); 7-day average — 7.9% (-1.7)
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: 934,142 cases, 15,865 deaths, 12,939,386 tests
- U.S.: 18,794,545 cases, 330,509 deaths, 11,101,866 recoveries
- World: 80,070,327 cases, 1,753,839 deaths, 45,156,966 recoveries
Testing sites in southwestern Illinois
Here are some upcoming coronavirus testing options:
Monday, Dec. 28: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Monroe County Annex, 901 Illinois Ave., Waterloo
- Wednesday, Dec. 30: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Monroe County Annex, 901 Illinois Ave., Waterloo
- Thursday, Dec. 31: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Belle-Clair Fairgrounds & Expo Center, 200 S. Belt E. #2650
- Saturday, Jan. 2: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Belle-Clair Fairgrounds & Expo Center, 200 S. Belt East, #2650
- Every Tuesday and Thursday: 9-11 a.m. COVID-19 rapid testing at the Clinton County Fairgrounds, 1899 Methodist St., Carlyle
The testing site at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Center in East St. Louis has been moved to St. Clair Square mall, behind Dillards. It’s open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. It’s a drive-thru with four tents, allowing people to stay in their cars.
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, and hours of operation are subject to change based on available equipment.
St. Clair County hosted a “soft opening” of its new service center on Tuesday at 330 W. Main St. in Belleville. Here are the available testing dates and times:
- Monday, Dec. 28; Tuesday, Dec. 29; and Wednesday, Dec. 30 (holiday hours): 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The regular hours for the location starting Monday, Jan. 4, will be 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursdays; and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fridays.
“To get the new location at the old bank building up and going within about a five- or six-week time, it’s remarkable the job everyone has done,” said Herb Simmons, director of the St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency. “It’s going to be great to have a central location that is being used for a testing site and once the vaccine gets in place, it’s going to really be great.
“I think it’s really going to be a smooth operation that we can all be happy it came together so quickly.”
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 26, 2020 at 6:41 PM.
