Hospitalization rate for St. Clair County in southwest Illinois lowest since Dec. 12

St. Clair County shared positive news about COVID-related hospitalizations during Wednesday’s daily briefing.

County officials announced 99 patients were hospitalized due to COVID-19, the lowest figure since Dec. 12, according to St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern.

“It really, I think, shows the holidays are a real problem for us,” he said. “When I look back at the numbers, we were three digits after Thanksgiving, we fell a little bit through Dec. 12, then all of a sudden holiday parties take place and we got above 100.”

“Hospitalizations down, numbers down,” Kern added as he turned to St. Clair County Emergency Director Herb Simmons. “Herb, we’ve just got to keep doing what we’ve been doing, get needles in arms and we’ll be able to get through this as unscathed as possible.

Added Simmons, “And we’re going to get the needles in the arms. I’ve got all the confidence in the world in our health department and those that are going to be helping with that next stage of this.”

Simmons later shared a story from a local nurse. Simmons read the note, which stated she contracted COVID on Dec. 14 and since then, has experienced numerous symptoms including loss of taste, loss of smell, non-stop cough, extreme shortness of breath, nasal burning, intense headaches, extreme dizziness, difficulty walking due to weakness, and severe tremors.

According to the note, by Dec. 22, she was diagnosed with pneumonia, and was started on inhalers, antibiotics and steroids. On Jan. 7, the nurse said in the note her heart rate shot up up to 150 and she developed chest pains. She said she was diagnosed with a blood clot in the lung.

The nurse asked to remain anonymous due to her employment.

The note wrapped up with, “COVID is not like the flu that some say. It affects every part of your body. I try not to be angry, but it honestly does upset me when I see people walking around without a mask or just covering their mouth. COVID is not a conspiracy. It’s a real thing. If we did our part and followed the guidelines and then get vaccinated when it’s time, cases will be much less and maybe less people will experience what I am currently dealing with.”

Kern then discussed the importance of wearing a mask.

“The mask gives you the best chance of not getting it,” he said. “That’s if both people are wearing the mask, your chances go down. If only you are wearing the mask and the other person is not, your chances are far greater of getting it than if both parties are wearing masks. They’re doing a nice thing for you by wearing a mask. You ought to do a nice thing for them by wearing a mask, too.”

Kern then added masks are not 100 percent effective, but that the chances of spread remains far lower if both parties are wearing masks.

“But, still, given all that, people who are both wearing masks, it still can be transmitted,” he said. “But anything we can do to give ourselves a little better chance of not getting COVID — and frankly with masks, a lot better chance of not getting COVID — is something we should do.”

Vaccine update for southwestern Illinois, St. Clair County

More than 15,000 COVID-19 vaccinations have been administered in the metro-east as of Wednesday, according to new data from the Illinois Department of Public Health.

According to the data, 15,487 vaccines have been administered, with a total of 3,395 people fully vaccinated.

Here is the breakdown of vaccinations per county:

• St. Clair County has administered 5,229 — 0.50% of its population
  
  
• Madison County has administered 5,696 — 0.44% of its population
  
  
• Monroe County has administered 840 — 0.31% of its population
  
  
• Washington County has administered 362 — 0.69% of its population
  
  
• Randolph County has administered 1,248 — 0.89% of its population
  
  
• Bond County has administered 417 — 0.51% of its population
  
  
• Clinton County has administered 1,695 — 1.0% of its population
  
  

As of Wednesday, Illinois had administered 384,658 vaccines.

St. Clair County Health Department Emergency Response Coordinator Sam Bierman provided a vaccine update during Wednesday’s briefing.

“For anyone who has not signed up yet, we do have a vaccine notification form that is listed on both the EMA and health department Facebook pages as well as the county page and the health department website,” she said. “This is not a registration for an appointment for a vaccine. This simply gives us your information so that when we meet your tier, and you are eligible to receive the vaccine, we’re able to get that information out to you so you then can sign up for the vaccine yourself.”

So far, Bierman said 25,860 St. Clair County residents have signed up.

“That’s great. We’re hoping to see more. The more people who sign up, the quicker we can get the information out to them when the time comes,” Bierman said.

Added Simmons, “That form is important. That’s going to help with the logistics as Sam said. If you know anybody out there who hasn’t signed up you need to really encourage them to do that, because that’s going to make it a lot easier, a lot smoother transition of getting it done.”

Vaccine distribution is still in its earliest stage, known as 1A. Those who work in healthcare or work or are living in long-term care facilities are eligible to be vaccinated during the 1A phase.

The second phase of vaccinations, 1B, will include first responders and other healthcare workers. Officials expect the total vaccination of 1A to take at least another month.

“Once we get through with 1A then the notifications will start because people are signing up to be notified and we’ll let them know when these vaccines will be ready for them so they can make appointments,” Kern said. “And we’ll get these shots in their arms and we’ll get moving toward getting our lives back to normal. Bring on the vaccine. We’re going to get it out.”

COVID-19 positivity rate drops again in southwest Illinois

Region 4’s COVID-19 positivity rate dropped again Wednesday, marking the fifth consecutive day the rate has lowered.

The metro-east’s rolling seven-day average positivity rate was 11.4% on Wednesday, down from 11.5% on Tuesday. Wednesday again marked the lowest the region’s rate has been since Nov. 4 when it was 11.3%. However, the region reported a daily positivity rate of 13.6% on Wednesday, a sharp rise from 9.1% on Tuesday.

The number of available hospital beds in the seven-county metro-east, meanwhile, showed mixed trends Wednesday, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

As of Tuesday, 12.4% of the metro-east’s staffed hospital beds were available for patient use, up from 11.9% on Tuesday, according to state health department data. Additionally, 17.3% of the region’s intensive care unit beds were available as of Wednesday, down from 18.2% the day prior.

Wednesday also marked the 16th consecutive day the region’s hospital bed availability has been below the state-set threshold of 20% and the seventh-straight day the region’s ICU availability has been under the threshold, 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.

Overall, as of Wednesday, Region 4 still had the highest positivity rate and the lowest hospital bed availability statewide.

For Tier 3 mitigation metrics to be relaxed or to move to Tier 2, the region must have a seven-day rolling average positivity rate of less than 12% for three consecutive days while also seeing at least 20% available intensive care unit and medical/surgical bed availability for three consecutive days.

The new testing positivity rate is based on data recorded as of Jan. 10, and the hospital and ICU bed availability is based on data recorded as of Jan. 12. A region’s positivity rate is its percentage of positive COVID-19 tests versus the number of tests taken over a seven-day period.

Restrictions on Illinois businesses may be lifted as early as Friday, depending on the level of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations in their communities, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced last week. Illinois officials had paused any removal of restrictions through the end of year holidays, even as statistics improved in some areas of the state.

Officials picked Friday as the earliest date for that to happen because it is outside of the time frame during which the state could see any potential surge in COVID-19 diagnoses from holiday gatherings. Local officials say a recent spike in cases and deaths may be a result of recent gatherings.

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.

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: 5,862 (-780)

New deaths: 97 (-20)

New tests: 76,107 (-17,834)

Total cases: 1,046,030

Total deaths: 17,840

Total vaccines administered: 384,658 (+30,867)

Total tests: 14,339,584

Hospitalizations: 3,642 (+89)

People in ICU: 749 (-8)

People on ventilators: 386 (-23)

Statewide positivity rate (from Jan. 6-12): 7.3% (-0.2%)

Wednesday’s breakdown for Region 4

New cases (includes Tuesday data from Washington County): 559 (-37)

New deaths: 8 (no change from Tuesday) (St. Clair County reported 4 new deaths; Madison County reported 1 new death; Clinton County reported 1 new death; Randolph County reported 1 new death; and Monroe County reported 1 new death.)

Total vaccines administered: 15,487 (+1,162)

Daily positivity rate (as of Sunday): 13.6% (+4.5%)

Seven-day rolling average positivity rate (as of Sunday): 11.4% (-0.1%)

Regional hospitalizations: 181 (-25) (provided by St. Clair County)

Regional patients on ventilators: 18 (+3) (provided by St. Clair County)

Hospital bed availability: 12.4% (+0.5%)

ICU bed availability: 17.3% (-0.9%)

New cases from nearby counties outside Region 4: 52 (-39)

New deaths from nearby counties outside Region 4: 1 (-5) (Jersey County reported 1 new death.)

ST. CLAIR COUNTY

Wednesday’s new data: 169 new positives, 4 new deaths, 1,533 new tests administered, 112 new recoveries, 12 fewer patients hospitalized, 2 additional patients on ventilators

Total overall: 23,648 positives, 367 deaths, 227,459 tests administered, 21,174 recoveries, 99 patients hospitalized with 11 patients on ventilators

Vaccines administrated: St. Clair County is reporting 400 people have been vaccinated since Tuesday bringing the total to 5,229.

Additional data: People who tested positive ranged from under the age of 1 to their 90s. Of the 169 new positives, 79 individuals were under the age of 40.

Congregate living facilities: Cambridge House of Swansea reported 5 new cases; Four Fountains of Belleville reported 10 new cases; Integrity Healthcare of Belleville reported 6 new cases and 1 new death; Integrity Healthcare of Smithton reported 1 new case; and St. Paul’s Home of Belleville reported 1 new death.

Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 14.2% (+2.9%); 7-day average — 10.7% (no changes from Tuesday)

MADISON COUNTY

Wednesday’s new data: 255 new positives, 1 new death, 1,327 new tests administered, 175 new recoveries, 1 fewer patient hospitalized, 1 additional patient on a ventilator

Total overall: 23,041 positives, 396 deaths, 209,898 tests administered, 13,801 recoveries, 63 patients hospitalized with 7 patients on ventilators

Vaccines administrated: Madison County is reporting 489 people have been vaccinated since Tuesday bringing the total to 5,696.

Additional data: People who tested positive ranged from under the age of 1 to their 90s. Of the 255 new positives, 124 individuals were under the age of 40.

Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 13.4% (+5.6%); 7-day average — 11.9% (-0.1%)

CLINTON COUNTY

Wednesday’s new data: 54 new positives, 1 new death, 27 new recoveries, 6 fewer patients hospitalized

Total overall: 4,885 positives, 77 deaths, 4,425 recoveries, 6 patients hospitalized

Vaccines administrated: Clinton County is reporting 148 people have been vaccinated since Tuesday bringing the total to 1,695.

Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 9.8% (-0.1%); 7-day average — 11.1% (-0.3%)

RANDOLPH COUNTY

Wednesday’s new data: 22 new positives, 1 new death, 11 new recoveries

Total overall: 3,664 positives, 65 deaths, 3,377 recoveries

Vaccines administrated: Randolph County is reporting 36 people have been vaccinated since Tuesday, bringing the total to 1,248.

Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 14.6% (+9.4%); 7-day average — 10.6% (-0.1%)

MONROE COUNTY

Wednesday’s new data: 27 new positives, 1 new death, 2 fewer patients hospitalized

Total overall: 3,489 positives, 65 deaths, 34 patients hospitalized

Vaccines administrated: Monroe County is reporting 63 people have been vaccinated since Tuesday, bringing the total to 840.

Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 16.7% (+6.9%); seven-day average — 13.1% (+0.5%)

BOND COUNTY

Wednesday’s new data: No new data

Total overall: 1,806 positives, 17 deaths, 35,667 tests administered

Vaccines administrated: Bond County is reporting 10 people have been vaccinated since Tuesday, bringing the total to 417.

Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 14.0% (+7.8%); seven-day average — 11.1% (+0.3%)

WASHINGTON COUNTY

Wednesday’s new data (includes Tuesday data): 32 new positives, 89 new recoveries, 4 fewer patients hospitalized

Total overall: 1,427 positives, 23 deaths, 1,327 recoveries, 4 patients hospitalized

Vaccines administrated: Washington County is reporting 16 people have been vaccinated since Tuesday, bringing the total to 362.

Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 9.3% (+0.5%); 7-day average — 20.0% (-1.7%)

MACOUPIN COUNTY

Wednesday’s new data: 19 new positives, 45 new recoveries

Total overall: 3,895 positives, 94 deaths, 2,437 recoveries

Vaccines administrated: Macoupin County is reporting 49 people have been vaccinated since Tuesday, bringing the total to 1,434.

Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 7.7% (-6.3%); 7-day average — 9.4% (-0.4%)

JERSEY COUNTY

Wednesday’s new data: 15 new positives, 1 new death, 194 new tests administered, 13 new recoveries

Total overall: 2,137 positives, 37 deaths, 20,768 tests administered, 2,031 recoveries

Vaccines administrated: Jersey County is reporting 112 people have been vaccinated since Tuesday, bringing the total to 775.

Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 9.0% (+5.5%); 7-day average — 7.3% (-0.3%)

PERRY COUNTY

Wednesday’s new data: 12 new positives, 49 new recoveries

Total overall: 2,634 positives, 52 deaths, 2,303 recoveries

Vaccines administrated: Perry County is reporting 38 people have been vaccinated since Tuesday, bringing the total to 723.

Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 4.4% (+0.8%); 7-day average — 5.9% (-0.2%)

CALHOUN COUNTY

Wednesday’s new data: 6 new positives, 23 new recoveries

Total overall: 449 positives, 4 deaths, 415 recoveries

Vaccines administrated: Calhoun County is reporting 29 people have been vaccinated since Tuesday, bringing the total to 226.

Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 6.5% (+6.5%); 7-day average — 11.5% (-2.0%)

Editor’s note: The number of new COVID-19 cases for ZIP codes in each county is reported on Mondays and shows the cumulative increase for the past week. 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, Worldometer coronavirus map, and Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus map as of Wednesday afternoon.

• Illinois: 1,046,030 cases, 17,840 deaths, 14,339,584 tests
  
  
• U.S.: 23,397,662 cases, 390,513 deaths, 13,822,761 recoveries
  
  
• World: 92,306,227 cases, 1,977,735 deaths, 66,035,726 recoveries
  
  

Testing sites in southwestern Illinois

Here are some upcoming coronavirus testing options:

• Thursday, Jan. 13: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Quad City/Mt. Nebo Complex (former Harris Elementary School), 1634 Seventh St., Madison.
• 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.

Additionally, St. Clair County has a new service center 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 13, 2021 at 5:11 PM.