COVID-19 positivity rate for southwest IL counties falls to lowest level since June

The metro-east’s COVID-19 positivity rate dropped for the seventh-straight day Thursday to its lowest point since late June.

The region’s COVID-19 seven-day average positivity rate was 4.3%, a decrease from 4.5% on Wednesday. The rate — the lowest since June 25 when it was 3.9% — remains below the 6% threshold set by the state that helps determine if COVID-19 mitigation efforts used to slow the spread of the virus need to be increased or relaxed. The rate has been below 6% for 13-straight days.

Overall, the rate has been steadily dropping since the start of the new year. On Jan 1. the regional average case rate stood at 13.5%.

The region also reported a daily positivity rate of 3.7% on Thursday, an increase from 2.9% on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the availability of intensive care unit beds stood at 28% on Thursday, up from 27% on Wednesday. This marked the 17th-straight day of at least 20% capacity, which is another key benchmark.

On Thursday, Feb. 4, state health officials announced they were easing indoor dining and other restrictions in the metro-east, moving the region from Tier 2 to Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois Plan effective immediately. Additional information about which tier and phase regions are in can be found at the top of the IDPH website homepage.

Phase 4 guidelines include the following:

• Restaurants and bars: Indoor dining and drinking now permitted for parties of up to 10 people. Seated areas should be arranged so that tables allow for 6 feet between parties; impermeable barriers may be installed between booths that are less than 6 feet apart.
• Retail and service counter: Continue capacity limit of no more than 50% occupancy.
• Personal care: Continue capacity limit of no more than 50% occupancy.
• Indoor/outdoor recreation: Reopening select indoor recreation facilities (e.g., bowling alleys, skating rinks); indoor playgrounds and trampoline parks should remain closed; indoor recreation to operate at lesser of 50 customers or 50% of facility capacity.
• Museums: Capacity limit of no more than 25% occupancy; guided tours should be limited to 50 or fewer people per group.
• Meetings and social events: Limit to the lesser of 50 people or 50% of room capacity; multiple groups may meet in the same facility if they are socially distanced and in separate rooms.

The region had to meet the following metrics to move to Tier 1:

• 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.

The metro-east, or Region 4, consists of Bond, Clinton, Madison, Monroe, Randolph, St. Clair, and Washington counties.

A region’s positivity rate is its percentage of positive COVID-19 tests versus the number of tests taken over a seven-day period.

Vaccinations continue in metro-east

According to data from the Illinois Department of Public Health, Region 4 counties had administered 94,352 vaccinations and fully vaccinated 17,676 people as of Thursday.

St. Clair County had administered the most vaccines in the region with a total of 38,118 as of Thursday, while Madison County had administered both doses to the most people at 6,558.

Vaccinations of healthcare workers and others in the 1A vaccinations group began in mid-December and have been ongoing. In St. Clair County, people 65 years old and up are now eligible to begin 1B vaccinations.

Vaccinations in Phase 1B are 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.

Here’s how you can 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: Schedule an appointment with the Madison County Health Department at their website: https://www.co.madison.il.us/departments/health/
• 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.)

State of Illinois vaccine update Thursday

Weather continues to cause vaccine delivery delays from the federal government. State health officials are in contact with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and other federal agencies to understand the logistical challenges and if there is anything Illinois can do to expedite getting vaccine.

A total of 2,106,800 vaccine doses have been delivered to providers in Illinois, including Chicago. In addition, approximately 445,200 doses have been allocated to the federal government’s Pharmacy Partnership Program for long-term care facilities.

This brings the total Illinois doses to 2,552,000. A total of 1,977,033 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight, including 266,037 for long-term care facilities. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 61,132 doses. On Wednesday, 73,091 doses were administered.

Meanwhile, the state reported Thursday that 472,755 people — roughly 3.71% of its population — have been fully vaccinated.

For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.

Illinois announces new cases, deaths

The state of Illinois announced 1,966 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, bringing the total to 1,168,683. The state health department also announced 72 additional deaths making a new total of 20,129 deaths since the pandemic began.

Also within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 67,542 new tests have been administered for a total of 17,388,356.

As of Wednesday, when the latest data was available, 1,655 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 386 patients were in the ICU, and 184 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.

The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total tests from Feb. 11-17 dropped slightly to 2.7%.