Southwestern Illinois counties surpass 200,000 vaccinations as positivity rate drops

COVID-19 summary for Thursday, March 11

According to data released by the Illinois Department of Public Health on Thursday, St. Clair and Madison counties have administered 158,712 vaccines and fully vaccinated 53,684 residents.

The region, meanwhile, has administered 201,948 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and fully vaccinated 70,305 residents.

Additionally, the state of Illinois had its highest seven-day vaccination average with more than 98,000 doses administered, according to state health officials Thursday. Overall, more than 1.3 million Illinoisans have been fully vaccinated.

Also on Thursday, the state health department listed metro-east Region 4 as having a seven-day average positivity rate of 3.2%, down from 3.7% on Wednesday. The 3.2% marks the lowest the rate has been since the the state health department began tracking positivity rates June 11. Furthermore, this is the third time in the last four days the rate has been the lowest since the state started tracking data.

Thursday’s breakdown for Region 4

New cases: 146 (+42)

New deaths: 5 (+5) (Madison County reported 3 new deaths, and Monroe County reported 2 new deaths.)

Total vaccine doses administered (as of Wednesday): 201,948 (+3,912)

Daily positivity rate (as of Monday): 2.0% (-2.2)

7-day average positivity rate (as of Monday): 3.2% (-0.5)

Regional hospitalizations: 65 (-1) (provided by St. Clair County)

Regional patients on ventilators: 5 (+2) (provided by St. Clair County)

ICU bed availability (as of Wednesday): 35% (no change)

ST. CLAIR COUNTY

Thursday’s new data: 73 new positives, 0 new deaths, 1,244 new tests administered, 76 new recoveries, 5 additional patients hospitalized and 1 additional patient on a ventilator

Total overall: 28,606 positives, 459 deaths, 296,177 tests administered, 27,607 recoveries, 33 patients hospitalized with 3 patients on a ventilator.

Vaccines administered: 1,584 doses Wednesday, bringing the total to 80,643

% of population fully vaccinated: 10.61%

Additional data: People who tested positive ranged from under the age of 10 to their 90s. Of the 73 new positives, 30 were under the age of 40.

Congregate living facilities: St. Paul’s Home in Belleville reported 1 new case.

Positivity rates (as of Monday): Daily — 1.8% (-0.9); 7-day average — 3.1% (-0.8)

MADISON COUNTY

Thursday’s new data: 58 new positives, 3 new deaths, 1,060 new tests administered, 3 fewer patients hospitalized, 1 additional patient on a ventilator

Total overall: 27,877 positives, 463 deaths, 269,933 tests administered, 27,575 recoveries, 29 patients hospitalized with 2 patients on ventilators

Vaccines administered: 1,205 doses Wednesday, bringing the total to 78,069

% of population fully vaccinated: 9.83%

Additional data: People who tested positive ranged from under the age of 10 to their 90s. Of the 58 new positives, 30 were under the age of 40.

Positivity rate (as of Monday): Daily — 3.7% (-3.7); 7-day average — 4.5% (-0.2)

CLINTON COUNTY

Thursday’s new data: 2 new positives, 4 new recoveries, 1 fewer patient hospitalized

Total overall: 5,598 positives, 89 deaths, 5,472 recoveries, 2 patients hospitalized

Vaccines administered: 385 doses Wednesday, bringing the total to 12,961

% of population fully vaccinated: 14.13%

Positivity rates (as of Monday): Daily — 0.4% (-1.2); 7-day average — 1.1% (-0.3)

RANDOLPH COUNTY

Thursday’s new data: 4 new recoveries

Total overall: 4,010 positives, 82 deaths, 3,913 recoveries, 0 patients hospitalized

Vaccines administered: 264 doses Wednesday, bringing the total to 9,843

% of population fully vaccinated: 11.58%

Positivity rates (as of Monday): Daily — 1.2% (-6.2); 7-day average — 2.6% (-0.2)

MONROE COUNTY

Thursday’s new data: 13 new positives, 2 new deaths, 1 fewer patient hospitalized

Total overall: 4,135 positives, 100 deaths, 6 patients hospitalized

Vaccines administered: 268 doses Wednesday, bringing the total to 10,666

% of population fully vaccinated: 10.09%

Positivity rates (as of Monday): Daily — 2.2% (+2.2); 7-day average — 2.8% (no change)

BOND COUNTY

Thursday’s new data: No new data

Total overall: 2,075 positives, 21 deaths, 46,628 tests administered

Vaccines administered: 68 doses Wednesday, bringing the total to 5,150

% of population fully vaccinated: 12.41%

Positivity rates (as of Monday): Daily — 0.0% (no change); 7-day average — 0.6% (-0.1)

WASHINGTON COUNTY

Wednesday’s new data: No new data

Total overall: 1,596 positives, 28 deaths, 1,575 recoveries, 1 patient hospitalized

Vaccines administered: 138 doses Wednesday, bringing the total to 4,616

% of population fully vaccinated: 10.95%

Positivity rates (as of Sunday): Daily — 6.9% (+6.9); 7-day average — 1.8% (-0.4)

Editor’s note: The number of new COVID-19 cases by ZIP code in each county is reported on Mondays and shows the increase for the past week. Information comes from county sources and the Illinois Department of Public Health website.

Illinois reports new COVID cases, deaths Thursday

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 of COVID-19: 1,700 (+18)

New deaths: 55 (+25)

New COVID-19 tests: 89,893 (+18,405)

Total cases: 1,204,409

Total deaths: 20,863

Total tests: 18,894,652

Total Illinoisans fully vaccinated against COVID-19: 1,306,561 (+58,780) — or 10.25% of the population

Total vaccine doses administered: 3,680,703(+112,776)

Hospitalizations: 1,118 (-39)

People in ICU: 231 (-11)

People on ventilators: 102 (-9)

Statewide positivity rate (from March 4-10): 2.2% (-0.1)

Nation, world COVID-19 statistics

Here are the latest available statistics from the Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus map and Worldometer as of Thursday afternoon:

• U.S.: 29,862,124 cases, 542,191 deaths, 20,640,270 recoveries
  
  
• World: 118,638,190 cases, 2,632,074 deaths, 94,251,086 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.
  
  

The Illinois Department of Public Health will continue to deploy mobile testing teams to locations in East St. Louis, including 4601 State St., 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.

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 8 a.m.-4 p.m. daily. It’s a drive-thru with four tents, allowing people to stay in their cars.

St. Clair County has a service center at 330 W. Main St. in Belleville. Its regular hours are 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Thursdays; and 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Fridays.

Touchette Regional Hospital and Southern Illinois Healthcare Foundation also offer daily testing in Wood River. Call 618-646-2596 for an appointment.

COVID-19 definition key

• Region 4: The state-defined metro-east region includes St. Clair, Madison, Clinton, Monroe, Randolph, Bond and Washington counties.
• Daily positivity rate: The percentage of tests performed in a single day that were positive for COVID-19. Source: dph.illinois.gov/regionmetrics
• 7-day average positivity rate: The number of positive tests in a week, divided by the total number of tests performed during the same period. It is one measure Illinois uses to determine whether restrictions should be strengthened or loosened because it gives an indication of the infection rate in a community. The state-defined target is 8% or less. Source: dph.illinois.gov/regionmetrics
• Hospitalizations: The number of patients in the hospital who have COVID-19 or are suspected of having the disease.
• ICU bed availability: The number of staffed intensive-care unit beds that are empty over seven days, divided by the total number of beds in the region. It is another measure the state uses to make decisions about restrictions. The state-defined target is 20% or more. Source: dph.illinois.gov/regionmetrics
• Vaccine doses administered: The number of shots provided to individuals. Authorized COVID-19 vaccines require two shots. Source: dph.illinois.gov/covid19/vaccinedata
• % of population vaccinated: The number of county residents who have received both shots of an authorized COVID-19 vaccine, divided by the county’s total population. Source: dph.illinois.gov/covid19/vaccinedata

This story was originally published March 11, 2021 at 4:05 PM.