Southwestern Illinois counties hit benchmarks to have COVID-19 mitigations lifted
St. Clair County health officials are hopeful the metro-east region soon will have some of its COVID-19 restrictions lifted.
The Illinois Department of Public Health reported Wednesday metro-east Region 4 has a coronavirus testing positivity rate of 8.1% — its lowest since Oct. 20 when it was also at 8.1% — 21% intensive care unit bed availability, and a decline in hospital admissions seven-consecutive days.
For Tier 3 restrictions to be relaxed or the region moved to Tier 2, the seven-county metro-east must have had a seven-day rolling average positivity rate of less than 12% for three consecutive days while also seeing at least 20% intensive care unit and medical/surgical bed availability for three consecutive days.
Region 4 has hit all those benchmarks.
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.
St. Clair County health officials addressed the mitigations during Wednesday’s daily briefing, but did not mention when they would be lifted.
“The good news with the numbers is we entered a green day today according to the state, which allows us to open up certain things,” St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern said. “While we’re not quite yet to opening bars and restaurants yet — which is going to require being below 8 percent — our numbers are better, so we’re headed towards that if we can maintain lower numbers.
“We need to get below that 8 percent level (for three consecutive days) if we’re going to get open to 25% capacity for bars and restaurants.”
St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency Director Herb Simmons implored county residents to remain vigilant.
“We’ve to to keep our foot on the gas and keep these numbers going down,” he said. “We’re right at the edge there. So, please Team St. Clair, let’s not let up on it now because we are so close to being able to get back to a little bit of normal that we want.
‘The virus is still out there. It’s not going away.”
Simmons expressed optimism over the 8.1% positivity rate.
“That’s the number I watch daily. That’s what’s going to get us back below to get the bars and restaurants at least to the next tier to where we can get our businesses back open to some,” he said.
Officials also provided a vaccination update Wednesday, noting the county is still working on the 1A category, and that a mass vaccination site is being prepped at the Belle-Clair Fairgrounds. Kern then praised both the state and the county hospitals for their efforts, also pointing out hospitals are handling many vaccinations.
“The state’s has been a great partner,” he said. “And as we always say, our hospitals throughout, they’ve been a part of Team St. Clair. They’ve been on this live feed with us. With all four of our hospitals, we’ve really been fortunate that we have them to help us in this community.
“A lot of the vaccinations right now are actually occurring at the hospitals. They’ve taken on a big part of the duties of getting 1A vaccinated, and we certainly appreciate that. We really honor them and are glad that they’re our partner.”
County health officials said Tuesday COVID-19 vaccinations for the 1B population could start as early as this coming Monday.
Tier 3 mitigation remains in place
The metro-east remains under Tier 3 restrictions, which includes a ban on in-door dining at restaurants and bars, among other things. On Monday, state officials announced nine of the state’s 11 regions have had restrictions eased. The metro-east was not among them.
On Saturday, Region 5, Illinois’ southernmost region, had met requirements to move immediately into Tier one, a less restrictive COVID-19 tier in the state’s coronavirus mitigation plan just a day after being moved to Tier 2 by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
The state-defined Region 5 can now allow indoor dining and services with some restrictions on capacity and curfew. It is the first region in the state to re-enter Tier 1 after Tier 3 restrictions went into place statewide on Friday, Nov. 20.
Region 5 includes Alexander, Edwards, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Marion, Massac, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Saline, Union, Wabash, Wayne, White and Williamson counties.
Vaccinations continue in Southwest Illinois
Meanwhile, 4,312 people have received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in the metro-east’s seven counties, while a total of 22,022 shots have been administered.
Madison County has administered the most vaccines, with a total of 8,043 as of Wednesday, while St. Clair County has fully vaccinated the most individuals with a total of 1,628.
Here is the breakdown of vaccinations per county:
- St. Clair County has fully vaccinated 0.62% of its population
- Madison County has fully vaccinated 0.61% of its population
- Monroe County has fully vaccinated 0.42% of its population
- Washington County fully vaccinated 0.76% of its population
- Randolph County has fully vaccinated 0.98% of its population
- Bond County has fully vaccinated 0.55% of its population
- Clinton County has fully vaccinated 1.09% of its population
Vaccinations of healthcare workers and other members of the 1A vaccinations group began in mid-December and have been ongoing since. Randolph County is slated to enter 1B vaccinations this week, which include people 65 years or older, first responders and some educators.
People typically get vaccinated in the county where they live, because vaccine allocation is based in part on county population size.
The state reported Wednesday roughly 0.89% of its entire population has been vaccinated, or 112,823 individuals.
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: 4,822 (+504)
New deaths: 107 (+74)
New tests: 86,121 (+14,588)
Total cases: 1,081,354
Total deaths: 18,398
Total vaccines doses administered: 537,740 (+29,008)
Total tests: 14,984,649
Hospitalizations: 3,284 (-51)
People in ICU: 722 (+9)
People on ventilators: 379 (-16)
Statewide positivity rate (from Jan. 13-19): 5.5% (-0.2%)
Wednesday’s breakdown for Region 4
New cases (includes Tuesday data from Washington County): 478 (+16)
New deaths: 2 (-11) (Madison County reported 1 new death and Clinton County reported 1 new death.)
Total vaccines doses administered: 22,022 (+2,608)
Daily positivity rate (as of Sunday): 6.0% (-2.7%)
Seven-day rolling average positivity rate (as of Sunday): 8.1% (-0.7%)
Regional hospitalizations: 174 (-6) provided by St. Clair County)
Regional patients on ventilators: 17 (+1) (provided by St. Clair County)
Hospital bed availability (as of Tuesday): Not available Wednesday
ICU bed availability: 21% (+1.0%)
New cases from nearby counties outside Region 4: 72 (-75)
New deaths from nearby counties outside Region 4: 2 (+2) (Jersey County reported 2 new deaths.)
ST. CLAIR COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: 152 new positives, 1,110 new tests administered, 169 new recoveries, 3 additional patients hospitalized, 1 additional patient on a ventilator
Total overall: 24,770 positives, 383 deaths, 239,119 tests administered, 22,767 recoveries, 95 patients hospitalized with 10 on ventilators
Vaccines administered: 450 doses since Tuesday, bringing the total to 7,492
Additional data: Individuals who tested positive ranged from under the age of 11 to their 80s. Of the 152 new positives, 75 individuals were under the age of 40.
Congregate living facilities: BRIA of Belleville reported 1 new case; Cambridge House in Swansea reported 1 new case; Cedar Trails in Freeburg reported 2 new cases; Freeburg Care Center reported 1 new case; and Sycamore Village in Swansea reported 2 new cases.
Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 2.9% (-5.7%); 7-day average — 6.2% (-1.1%)
MADISON COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: 216 new positives, 1 new death, 1,583 new tests administered, 163 new recoveries, 1 fewer patient hospitalized
Total overall: 24,189 positives, 409 deaths, 220,661 tests administered, 14,942 recoveries, 59 patients hospitalized with 7 on ventilators
Vaccines administered: 416 doses since Tuesday, bringing the total to 8,043
Additional data: Individuals who tested positive ranged from under the age of 10 to their 90s. Of the 216 new positives, 95 individuals were under the age of 40.
Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 13.1% (+3.7%); 7-day average — 10.8% (no change from Tuesday)
CLINTON COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: 50 new positives, 1 new death, 88 new recoveries, 1 additional patient hospitalized
Total overall: 5,082 positives, 78 deaths, 4,616 recoveries, 5 patients hospitalized
Vaccines administered: 31 doses since Tuesday, bringing the total to 2,224
Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 6.1% (-2.9%); 7-day average — 8.8% (-0.4%)
RANDOLPH COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: 25 new positives, 12 new recoveries
Total overall: 3,773 positives, 68 deaths, 3,568 recoveries, 3 hospitalizations
Vaccines administered: 201 doses since Tuesday, bringing the total to 1,672
Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 8.7% (+1.0%); 7-day average — 7.5% (-0.4%)
MONROE COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: 19 new positives, 3 additional patients hospitalized
Total overall: 3,628 positives, 70 deaths, 32 patients hospitalized
Vaccines administered: 346 doses since Tuesday, bringing the total to 1,437
Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 15.9% (+9.6%); 7-day average — 8.2% (-0.4%)
BOND COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: No new data
Total overall: 1,854 positives, 18 deaths, 35,835 tests administered
Vaccines administered: 101 doses since Tuesday, bringing the total to 605
Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 0.0% (-10.0%); 7-day average — 10.5% (-1.0%)
WASHINGTON COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data (includes Tuesday data): 15 new positives, 33 new recoveries, 2 fewer patients hospitalized
Total overall: 1,474 positives, 23 deaths, 1,408 recoveries, 1 patients hospitalized
Vaccines administered: 73 doses since Tuesday, bringing the total to 549
Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 15.8% (+13.4%); 7-day average — 15.0% (+0.6%)
MACOUPIN COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: 38 new positives, 31 new recoveries
Total overall: 4,079 positives, 96 deaths, 2,785 recoveries
Vaccines administered: 32 doses since Tuesday, bringing the total to 2,529
Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 14.4% (+5.2%); 7-day average — 8.1% (+0.5%)
JERSEY COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: 17 new positives, 2 new deaths, 336 new tests administered, 8 new recoveries
Total overall: 2,242 positives, 42 deaths, 22,019 tests administered, 2,100 recoveries
Vaccines administered: 5 doses since Tuesday, bringing the total to 1,249
Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 13.3% (-2.6%); 7-day average — 8.5% (+0.3%)
PERRY COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: 17 new positives, 34 new recoveries
Total overall: 2,808 positives, 52 deaths, 2,453 recoveries
Vaccines administered: 55 doses since Tuesday, bringing the total to 919
Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 6.6% (+2.2%); 7-day average — 6.9% (no change from Tuesday)
CALHOUN COUNTY
Wednesday’s new data: No new data
Total overall: 452 positives, 4 deaths, 424 recoveries
Vaccines administered: 1 dose since Tuesday, bringing the total to 254
Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 11.1% (+11.1%); 7-day average — 10.4% (+0.6%)
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: 1,081,354 cases, 18,398 deaths, 14,984,649 tests
- U.S.: 24,809,841 cases, 411,520 deaths, 14,786,886 recoveries
- World: 96,643,566 cases, 2,066,003 deaths, 69,323,391 recoveries
Testing sites in southwestern Illinois
Here are some upcoming coronavirus testing options:
- Thursday, Jan. 21: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at House of Prayer to All Nations, 5503 N. Park Drive, Washington Park.
- Friday, Jan. 22: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Troy United Methodist Church, 407 Edwardsville Road, Troy.
- Saturday, Jan. 23: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Madison County Health Department, 101 E. Edwardsville Road, Wood River.
- Saturday, Jan. 23: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at McKendree University - The Hett, 400 N. Alton St., Lebanon.
- Sunday, Jan. 24: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at McKendree University - The Hett, 400 N. Alton St., Lebanon.
- Sunday, Jan. 24: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at New Life in Christ Interdenominational Church, 689 Scott Troy Road, O’Fallon
- 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, in the parking lot 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 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. Its regular hours 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 20, 2021 at 5:00 PM.