Loosened COVID restrictions take effect in southwest IL as positivity rate stays flat
The metro-east’s COVID-19 seven-day average positivity rate remained the same Friday, as loosened restrictions were announced to go into effect.
According to Illinois Department of Public Health data, the rate was 8.4% on Friday, the same as Thursday. The region also reported a daily positivity rate of 10.2% on Friday, up slightly from 8.9% on Thursday.
The region’s seven-day average rate saw marginal improvements over this month, falling from 13.5% on Jan. 4 to 8.4% as of Jan. 19.
The new testing positivity rate is based on data recorded as of Jan. 19. A region’s positivity rate is its percentage of positive COVID-19 tests versus the number of tests taken over a seven-day period.
The metro-east officially received word it would move into Tier 2 restrictions as part of Gov. J.B. Pritzkers Rebuild Illinois plan Friday. The area was the last remaining region in Illinois to remain under the state’s tightest COVID-19 restrictions, known as Tier 3 mitigations.
Region 4 includes St. Clair, Madison, Bond, Clinton, Monroe, Randolph and Washington counties.
Tier 2 still bans indoor service at bars and restaurants, but loosens restrictions on casinos, video gambling, youth sports and museums. If the region meets additional requirements, it could move into Tier 1, which allows indoor dining with the lesser of 25 patrons or 25% capacity.
To move to Tier 1, a region has to meet the following metrics:
- Test positivity rate between 6.5% and 8% for three consecutive days on a seven-day average
- Staffed ICU bed availability must be at 20% or more for three consecutive days on a seven-day average
- No sustained increase in COVID patients in the hospital on a seven-day average for seven of 10 days
Also Friday, 21% of the metro-east’s intensive care unit beds were available for patient use, the same as Thursday, according to state health department data. The region’s available staffed hospital bed metrics were not available Thursday.
The hospital and ICU bed availability is based on data recorded as of Jan. 21.
Vaccine update
Overall, as of Friday, 4,617 people have received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in the metro-east’s seven counties, up from 4,390 Thursday. Meanwhile, a total of 25,251 shots have been administered, up from 23,347 the previous day, according to data from the state health department.
Madison County has administered the most vaccines, with a total of 9,144 as of Friday, and St. Clair County had fully vaccinated the most individuals at 1,739.
Vaccinations of healthcare workers and other members of the 1A vaccinations group began in mid-December and have been ongoing since. Randolph County was scheduled to enter 1B vaccinations this week, which include people 65 years or older, first responders and some educators. In St. Clair County , people 75 years and up are eligible to begin 1B vaccinations starting Monday.
Vaccinations in Phase 1B will be by appointment only at some pharmacies, as well as state-run and locally-run clinics. More detailed information about locations will be announced at coronavirus.illinois.gov, state officials said Friday.
These are the ways to let your county health department know you are interested in setting up a COVID-19 vaccine appointment when you become eligible:
- St. Clair County: Fill out the COVID-19 Notification for Vaccine Availability form online at health.co.st-clair.il.us. (If you don’t have internet access or need help signing up, call the health department at 618-825-4447.)
- Madison County: Fill out the Madison County Health Department COVID-19 Vaccine Registration Survey online at madisonchd.org.
- Clinton County: Fill out the Clinton County, IL Health Department COVID-19 Vaccine Registry online at clintoncountyhealth.com or call the health department at 618-594-6622 to be added to the vaccine waitlist. (The waitlist is currently only for residents who are 65 years old or older. You don’t need to fill out the form if you already called to get on the waitlist.)
- Monroe County: Sign up for the phone and email alert system CodeRED.
- Randolph County: Call the health department at 618-826-5007 or fill out one of the following vaccine waiting lists: Memorial Hospital COVID-19 Vaccination Sign-Up online at mhchester.com/covidvax; or Red Bud Regional Hospital’s COVID-19 Vaccine Waiting List online at redbudanytime.com. (The waitlists are currently only for residents who are 65 years old or older.)
- Bond County: Fill out the Bond County, IL Health Department COVID-19 Vaccine Registry online at bchd.us to be added to the vaccine waitlist. (The waitlist is currently only for residents who are 65 years old or older, health care workers and frontline essential workers, including teachers, first responders and grocery store employees. You do not need to fill out the form if you already called the health department to get on the waitlist.)
- Washington County: Call the health department at 618-327-3644 to be added to the vaccine waitlist. (The waitlist is currently only for residents who are 65 years old or older.)
Meanwhile, the state reported Friday that roughly 1.01% of its entire population has been fully vaccinated, or 128,469 individuals.
State of Illinois announces new cases, deaths
Meanwhile, the state of Illinois announced 7,042 new COVID-19 cases Friday, bringing the total to 1,093,375. The state health department also announced 95 additional deaths to bring the total to 18,615 since the pandemic began.
Also within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 125,831 new tests have been administered for a total of 15,209,516.
As of Thursday, when the latest data was available, 3,179 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 661 patients were in the ICU, and 348 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total tests from Jan. 15-21 is 5.0%.
This story was originally published January 22, 2021 at 12:57 PM.