More vaccines arriving in southwest IL as vaccination of health care workers continues
St. Clair County officials said Tuesday the vaccination of the first category of eligible people will take longer due to the large number of hospitals and medical professionals in the county.
Samantha Bierman, St. Clair County Health Department emergency response coordinator, said more doses of the vaccine are coming every day to St. Clair County, but having three hospitals and many other healthcare operations in the county could mean a longer wait for individuals the 1A category
“We’re still in the 1A category and we will be for some time,” Bierman said, adding that plans are in place for when the next category of individuals become eligible.
County Board Chairman Mark Kern said the state has been working with St. Clair County to move vaccines into the area, due to the volume of healthcare professionals who operate out of the county and surrounding area.
“In St. Clair County, since we are one of the medical centers of Illinois, we have a bigger 1A than some other counties,” Kern said. “Our charge is much greater in St. Clair because we have more people to inoculate with this vaccine.”
Kern said meanwhile, it’s important that everyone remains vigilant and continues to wear a mask, wash their hands and maintain social distance. The county reported 225 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday and four additional deaths. Ten deaths have been announced since Monday.
“The rates continue to grow with a lot of deaths today,” Kern said. “I remember 220 some odd days ago we were waiting for masks, gloves and sanitizer, and now we’re waiting for a vaccine.”
He said it’s important to try to get the spread of COVID-19 down in the region as vaccinating the population will take months, adding that reports of the virus mutating is a growing concern for health officials.
“We want to make sure we eradicate the virus before it gets a chance to get stronger and better at what it does,” Kern said. “The longer this goes on the more chance this becomes a greater medical problem that we have to solve. That’s why we’re on this every day.”
86% of southwestern IL hospital beds are occupied due to COVID-19
Roughly 86% of the metro-east’s staffed hospital beds are occupied, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
As of Tuesday, 13.7% of the metro-east’s staffed hospital beds were available for patient use, down from 15.9% Monday, according to IDPH data. Additionally, 23.5% of the region’s intensive care unit beds were available Tuesday, down from 25.6% Monday.
Tuesday marked the eighth-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. The entire state is in Tier 3 mitigations.
For Tier 3 mitigation restrictions 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 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% Tuesday, down from 13.2% Monday. Additionally, the region reported a daily positivity rate of 12.6% on Tuesday, down from 12.8% on Monday.
The new testing positivity rate and hospital and ICU bed availability is based on data recorded as of Jan. 4. 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.
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 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: 6,839 (+1,780 from previous day)
New deaths: 126 (+47 from previous day)
New tests: 87,083 (+38,829 from previous day)
Total cases: 991,719
Total deaths: 16,959
Total tests: 13,617,454
Hospitalizations: 3,948 (-43 from previous day)
People in ICU: 800 (-16 from previous day)
People on ventilators: 457 (-14from previous day)
Statewide positivity rate (from Dec. 29-Jan. 4): 8.5%
Tuesday’s breakdown for Region 4
New cases: 405
New deaths: 14 (Randolph county reported six deaths and St. Clair County and Madison County each reported four new deaths)
Daily positivity rate (as of Friday): 12.8% (-0.3)
Seven-day rolling average positivity rate (as of Friday): 13.0% (-0.2)
Regional hospitalizations: 193 (-1) (provided by St. Clair County)
Regional patients on ventilators: 16 (provided by St. Clair County)
Hospital bed availability: 13.7% (-2.2)
ICU bed availability: 23.5% (-2.1)
New cases from nearby counties outside Region 4: 34
New deaths from nearby counties outside Region 4: 1 (Jersey County reported one new death)
ST. CLAIR COUNTY
Tuesday’s new data: 225 new positives, 1,436 new tests administered, 4 new deaths
Total overall: 21,926 positives, 340 deaths, 214,472 tests administered, 19,695 recoveries, 117 patients hospitalized with 11 patients on ventilators
Additional data: Individuals who tested positives ranged from under the age of 1 to their 90s. Of the 225 new positives, 144 individuals were under the age of 50.
Congregate living facilities: Colonnade of O’Fallon reported 10 new cases, Integrity Healthcare in Belleville reported two new cases, Millwood Retirement Center in Caseyville reported one new case, mercy Rehab and Care Center reported two new cases and St. Paul’s Home reported two new cases and three deaths.
Positivity rates (as of Saturday): Daily — 12.4% (-1.0); seven-day average — 12.8% (-0.3)
MADISON COUNTY
Tuesday’s new data: 117 new confirmed positives, 11 new probably positives, 1,041 new tests administered, 4 new deaths
Total overall: 21,390 positives, 381 deaths, 197,798 tests administered, 12,281 recoveries, 55 patients hospitalized with 4 patients on ventilators
Additional data: Individuals who tested positives ranged from under the age of 1 to their 80s. Of the 128 new positives, 85 individuals were under the age of 50.
Positivity rates (as of Saturday): Daily — 12.3% (-0.3); 7-day average — 13.2% (No changes from Monday)
CLINTON COUNTY
Tuesday’s new data: 27 new positives
Total overall: 4,600 positives, 75 deaths, 4,150 recoveries, 8 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Saturday): Daily — 13.9% (+0.3); 7-day average — 10.9% (+0.1)
RANDOLPH COUNTY
Monday’s new data: 42 new positives, 7 new deaths
Total overall: 3,438 positives, 60 deaths, 3,215 recoveries, 2 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Saturday): Daily — 10.9% (-0.7); 7-day average — 12.8% (-1.0)
MONROE COUNTY
Tuesday’s new data: 25 new positives
Total overall: 3,271 positives, 59 deaths, 37 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Saturday): Daily — 14.5% (+1.4); seven-day average — 14.1% (-0.1)
BOND COUNTY
Tuesday’s new data: No new data of 6 p.m.
Total overall: 1,698 positives, 16 deaths, 35,318 tests administered
Positivity rates (as of Saturday): Daily — 9.8% (-3.1); seven-day average — 10.4% (+0.1)
WASHINGTON COUNTY
Tuesday’s new data: No new data of 6 p.m.
Total overall: 1,205 positives, 21 deaths, 1,081 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Saturday): Daily — 26.2% (-3.2); 7-day average — 23.5% (-0.6)
MACOUPIN COUNTY
Tuesday’s new data: No new data as of 6 p.m.
Total overall: 3,541 positives, 87 deaths, 2,009 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Friday): Daily — 13.2% (-2.7); 7-day average — 8.6% (-0.2)
JERSEY COUNTY
Tuesday’s new data: 14 new positives, one new death
Total overall: 2,046 positives, 31 deaths, 19,428 tests administered, 1,918 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Saturday): Daily — 17.3% (+9.6); 7-day average — 12.2% (+0.6)
PERRY COUNTY
Tuesday’s new data: 20 new positives
Total overall: 2,439 positives, 52 deaths, 1,939 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Saturday): Daily — 21.9% (-17.2); 7-day average — 14.6% (+1.5)
CALHOUN COUNTY
Tuesday’s new data: No new data of 6 p.m.
Total overall: 404 positives, three deaths, 372 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Saturday): Daily — 27.3% (+14.8); 7-day average — 17.6% (+2.1)
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 Tuesday night
- Illinois: 991,719 cases, 16,959 deaths, 13,617,454 tests
- U.S.: 20,495,829 cases, 351,060 deaths, 12,404,823 recoveries
- World: 84,898,547 cases, 1,840,268 deaths, 47,756,782 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
Monday, Jan 4. and Wednesday, Jan. 6: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Bond County Fairgrounds in Greenville
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. Hohlt said that facility will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 2, and Sunday, Jan. 3 as well.
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 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.
Additionally, the Monroe County Health Department will have a drive-thru COVID vaccination clinic for Monroe County health care workers with direct patient contact from noon to 4 p.m. Monday, Jan. 4, at the Monroe County Fairgrounds, 4177 Illinois 156, Waterloo.
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 5, 2021 at 5:10 PM.