St. Clair County health officials report 8 new deaths, sharp decrease in COVID-19 cases

St. Clair County reported an increase in deaths but a decrease in COVID-19 cases for the week of Oct. 7-13.

Overall, health officials on Wednesday announced eight new deaths — up from three the previous week — and 331 new COVID-19 cases — down from 418 the period of Sept. 29-Oct. 6.

Additionally, hospitalization numbers in St. Clair County decreased from 38 last week to 32 this week, health officials reported at Wednesday’s weekly briefing. The number of patients on ventilators also dropped from five last week to four this week.

The county has had 39,988 cases and 553 deaths since the pandemic began.

The deaths this past week included a man in his 60s and a man in his 80s, both with underlying health conditions; a man in his 30s, a man in his 60s, a woman in her 70s and two men in their 80s, all with unknown health conditions; and one “subject” in their 20s with no known health conditions (the gender of the individual was not revealed).

“We continue to encourage you (to get vaccinated). It’s everybody’s individual choice, but, again, these numbers are telling the story of this,” St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency Director Herb Simmons said during the briefing. “Eight deaths this last week of our county residents and citizens ... eight more deaths is just way too many. We keep saying that each and every week.”

St. Clair County health officials said they continue to see cases among the younger population.

• 52% of current positive cases are under 40, down from 59.6% last week.
• 29% of current positive cases are under 21, down from 33% last week.
• 14% of current positive cases are under 10, down from 17.8% last week.

“We’re still seeing this in the younger and younger ages,” St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency Assistant Director Bryan Whitaker said. “Those who are healthier are still coming down with a pretty serious virus. It’s something that’s definitely still very concerning. That’s why it’s so important to get that vaccine.”

COVID still hitting unvaccinated people hardest

The latest data from local medical facilities continues to show unvaccinated people stand a higher chance of being hospitalized than vaccinated people, if they catch the COVID-19 virus.

St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency Assistant Director Bryan Whitaker presented a graphic from Touchette Regional Hospital, Memorial Hospital and HSHS St. Elizabeth’s hospital breaking down overall hospitalizations, ICU patients and those on ventilators among vaccinated and unvaccinated people.

Here are the results:

• Hospitalizations: 32 people total hospitalized, with 18 of them unvaccinated. Last week, 38 people were hospitalized,with 27 of them unvaccinated.
• ICU: Eight individuals total in the ICU, with five of them unvaccinated. Last week, eight people were in the ICU, all of them unvaccinated.
• Ventilators: Four people on ventilators, with three of them unvaccinated. Last week, five people were on ventilators, all them unvaccinated.

Madison County, Region 4 hospital figures

Meanwhile, as of Wednesday, nearby Madison County reported 468 new cases from Oct. 7-13, down from 474 cases the prior week. The county also reported a decrease in deaths from five during the period of Sept. 30-Oct. 6 to two this past week.

Overall, as of Wednesday’s data, Madison County had reported 39,190 cases and 587 deaths since the pandemic began.

The Madison County Health Department on Wednesday also reported 26 patients hospitalized due to COVID, down from 35 last week. The county reported four people on ventilators, down from six last week.

St. Clair and Madison counties are part of what the Illinois Department of Public Health classifies as Region 4, which also includes Bond, Clinton, Monroe, Randolph, and Washington counties.

And, regionally, the number of patients hospitalized decreased from 86 last week to 63 this week, officials reported Wednesday, with the number of people on a ventilator dropping from nine to eight.

This story was originally published October 14, 2021 at 9:00 AM.