St. Clair County reports its fourth highest death toll since COVID-19 pandemic began
St. Clair County public health officials on Wednesday reported its fourth deadliest day of the COVID-19 pandemic.
They announced seven new deaths during the daily briefing. Only Dec. 12 (12 deaths), Aug. 21 (10 deaths) and Dec. 28 (nine deaths) had higher totals.
Deaths in St. Clair County now total 347 including 17 new deaths this week alone.
The deaths included a man in his 50s, a woman in her 60s, a man in his 70s, a woman in her 80s and three men in their 90s, all with unknown health conditions, according to health officials
“Seven more deaths over the last 24 hours, up to 347 here in our county,” St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency Director Herb Simmons said. “We keep preaching at it every day, have been for 299, and there are still several people out there who don’t think it’s anything to worry about. We’ve got to stay vigilant. We’ve got to get this behind us.
“Team St. Clair please keep sharing this, sharing the word. Please don’t give up hope, because we’re here with you.”
Simmons specifically noted the man in his 50s who died.
“One of those deaths, a male in his 50s,” Simmons said. “The old saying — some people were saying— it’s only in the elderly. I don’t think 50 is elderly. So we’ve got to take that very very serious. I know you’re tired of hearing us say that. Unfortunately you’re going to continue hearing us say that until we can get the vaccine into everybody. The health department is doing the best they can, working daily.”
St. Clair County also reported 143 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the total to 22,069 since the outset of the pandemic. Additionally, officials reported 120 people were hospitalized due to COVID, up from 117 the day prior.
“All too high,” St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern said. “Those 3-digit hospitalizations are very worrisome. The numbers are just ... they’re out there, and we’ve got to remain vigilant until all the vaccine comes in and we’re able to get it in peoples’ arms. We’ve got a long way to go folks.”
Added Simmons, “Hopefully in the next couple of days we’re getting past the New Year’s (holiday), these numbers hopefully will start leveling off is what I keep hoping for and praying for every night.”
89% of southwest IL hospital beds are occupied due to COVID-19
Approximately 89% of the metro-east’s staffed hospital beds are currently occupied, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
As of Wednesday, 11.2% of the metro-east’s staffed hospital beds were available for patient use, down from 13.7% on Tuesday, according to IDPH data. Additionally, 20.9% of the region’s intensive care unit beds were available Wednesday, down from 23.5% on Tuesday.
Wednesday marked the ninth-consecutive day the region’s hospital bed availability has been under the state-set threshold of 20%, which plays a part in determining whether COVID-19 restrictions need to be tightened or relaxed. Currently, the entire state is in Tier 3 mitigations.
For Tier 3 mitigation metrics to be relaxed or to move to Tier 2, the region must experience a less than 12% seven-day rolling average positivity rate for three consecutive days while also seeing 20% available intensive care unit and medical/surgical bed availability for three consecutive days.
Region 4’s rolling seven-day average positivity rate was 13.3% on Wednesday, up from 13% on Tuesday. Additionally, the region reported a daily positivity rate of 15.1% on Wednesday, up from 12.6% on Tuesday.
The new testing positivity rate and hospital and ICU bed availability is based on data recorded as of Jan. 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.
In December, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he wasn’t ready to lift mitigations on the state, even as some regions see caseloads and hospitalizations and ICU usage decrease. Since then the metro-east has seen an uptick in its positivity rate, while its hospital bed and ICU availability has fluctuated.
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.
Officials in the metro-east have continuously warned about the possibility of the region running low on hospital and ICU beds, prompting some area hospitals to temporarily cease elective surgeries. Officials also worry a spike of new COVID-19 cases could be on the way due to Christmas and New Year’s Eve celebrations.
On Monday, St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern said the effect of those celebrations should start to show up in the coming weeks.
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 Wednesday
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: 7,569 (+730)
New deaths: 139 (+13)
New tests: 80,974 (-6,109)
Total cases: 999,288
Total deaths: 17,096
Total tests: 13,698,428
Hospitalizations: 3,928 (-20)
People in ICU: 812 (+12)
People on ventilators: 451 (-6)
Statewide positivity rate (from Dec. 30-Jan. 5): 8.4% (-0.1%)
Wednesday’s breakdown for Region 4
New cases (includes Washington County’s data from Tuesday): 557 (+152)
New deaths: 11 (-3) (St. Clair County reported 7 new deaths; Monroe County reported 2 new deaths; Madison County reported 1 new death; and Clinton County reported 1 new death.)
Daily positivity rate (as of Sunday): 15.1% (+2.3%)
Seven-day rolling average positivity rate (as of Sunday): 13.3% (+0.3%)
Regional hospitalizations: 200 (+7) (provided by St. Clair County)
Regional patients on ventilators: 14 (-2) (provided by St. Clair County)
Hospital bed availability: 11.2% (-2.5%)
ICU bed availability: 20.9% (-2.6%)
New cases from nearby counties outside Region 4 (includes Calhoun County’s data from Dec. 31-Jan. 5): 119 (+42)
New deaths from nearby counties outside Region 4: 2 (+2) (Macoupin County reported 2 new deaths.)
ST. CLAIR COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: 143 new positives, 7 new deaths 1,135 new tests administered, 162 new recoveries, 3 additional patients hospitalized, 2 fewer patients on ventilators
Total overall: 22,069 positives, 347 deaths, 215,067 tests administered, 19,695 recoveries, 120 patients hospitalized with 9 patients on ventilators
Additional data: Individuals who tested positives ranged from under the age of 1 to their 80s. Of the 143 new positives, 64 individuals were under the age of 40.
Congregate living facilities: Cambridge House in Swansea reported 3 new cases; Caseyville Nursing and Rehab reported 1 new case; The Colonnade Senior Living in O’Fallon reported 1 new case; Four Fountains in Belleville reported 2 new cases; Morningside of Shiloh reported 1 new case and 1 new death; Integrity Healthcare in Belleville reported 3 new cases; Mercy Rehab and Care Center in Swansea reported 1 new death; and Sycamore Village Assisted Living in Swansea reported 1 new case.
Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 15.2% (+2.8%); seven-day average — 13.2% (+0.4%)
MADISON COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: 236 new positives, 1 new death, 1,259 new tests administered, 286 new recoveries, 1 fewere patient hospitalized
Total overall: 21,626 positives, 382 deaths, 199,057 tests administered, 12,567 recoveries, 54 patients hospitalized with 4 patients on ventilators
Additional data: Individuals who tested positives ranged from under the age of 10 to their 90s. Of the 236 new positives, 119 individuals were under the age of 40.
Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 15.0% (+2.7%); 7-day average — 13.5% (+0.3%)
CLINTON COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: 63 new positives, 1 new death, 63 new recoveries, 4 additional patients hospitalized
Total overall: 4,663 positives, 76 deaths, 4,213 recoveries, 12 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 13.7% (-0.2%); 7-day average — 11.7% (+0.8%)
RANDOLPH COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: 25 new positives, 15 new recoveries, 1 fewer patient hospitalized
Total overall: 3,463 positives, 60 deaths, 3,230 recoveries, 1 patient hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 21.8% (+10.9%); 7-day average — 12.9% (+0.1%)
MONROE COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: 29 new positives, 2 new deaths, 1 additional patient hospitalized
Total overall: 3,300 positives, 61 deaths, 38 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 9.0% (-4.5%); seven-day average — 14.2% (+0.1%)
BOND COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: No new data
Total overall: 1,698 positives, 16 deaths, 35,318 tests administered
Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 10.0% (+2.0%); seven-day average — 10.1% (-0.3%)
WASHINGTON COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data (includes Tuesday data): 61 new positives, 85 new recoveries
Total overall: 1,331 positives, 23 deaths, 1,166 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 29.7% (+3.5%); 7-day average — 24.0% (+0.5%)
MACOUPIN COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: 45 new positives, 2 new deaths, 44 new recoveries
Total overall: 3,629 positives, 89 deaths, 2,117 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 14.4% (+1.2%); 7-day average — 8.8% (+0.2%)
JERSEY COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: 11 new positives, 113 new tests administered, 18 new recoveries
Total overall: 2,057 positives, 31 deaths, 19,541 tests administered, 1,937 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 17.2% (-0.1%); 7-day average — 10.1% (-2.1%)
PERRY COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: 46 new positives, 21 new recoveries
Total overall: 2,485 positives, 52 deaths, 1,960 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 18.4% (-2.5%); 7-day average — 14.5% (-0.1%)
CALHOUN COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data (from Dec. 31-Jan. 5): 17 new positives
Total overall: 421 positives, three deaths, 372 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 42.9% (+15.6%); 7-day average — 16.7% (-3.0%)
Editor’s note: The number of new COVID-19 cases for ZIP codes in each county is 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 Wednesday afternoon.
- Illinois: 999,288 cases, 17,096 deaths, 13,698,428 tests
- U.S.: 21,579,641 cases, 365,664 deaths, 12,862,216 recoveries
- World: 86,849,283 cases, 1,876,547 deaths, 61,581,748 recoveries
Testing sites in southwestern Illinois
Here are some upcoming coronavirus testing options:
- 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 Dec. 22 at 330 W. Main St. in Belleville. The regular hours for the location are 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.
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 January 6, 2021 at 4:25 PM.