COVID infection rate for southwest IL hits record high. Here are details by county

The COVID-19 infection rate across the region is at 25.6%, its highest since state officials began tracking this data in June 2020, according to information released by the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Additionally, Region 4 hospitals also are reporting 27 consecutive days of COVID-19 patient increases.

Here is a breakdown of recent positivity rate and vaccine distribution data in Region 4, which consists of Bond, Clinton, Madison, Monroe, Randolph, St. Clair and Washington counties.

Region 4 positivity rates

Positivity rate is one key metric the Illinois Department of Public Health measures to determine what mitigations may be needed to stem the spread of COVID-19 cases.

Below are some recent trends for Region 4, according to data released by the state health department Wednesday.

• The positivity rate for Region 4 rose from 23.1% last week to 25.6% this week.
• Six of the seven counties reported positivity rates higher than 20%, with one county reporting 19.4%
• Five of the seven counties reported increases from last week to this week.
  
  
• All seven counties reported positivity rates well above the 8% threshold.
• All seven counties reported higher positivity rates than from early December and early September. Region 4 as a whole also reported a higher positivity rate than from early December and early September.

All the positivity rates are by far the highest they’ve been since the Illinois Department of Public Health started tracking data in June 2020.

Meanwhile, after going more than 110 days below the 8% threshold, the Region 4 positivity rate has now been above that mark 19 consecutive days.

The ICU bed availability, meanwhile, has been below the 20% threshold 13 consecutive days after being at or above that figure for 116-straight days, according to state data.

Here is a more detailed look at the seven-day rate fluctuations for Region 4 counties from one week ago, from the beginning of December and from the beginning of September, according to the most recent data released by the state health department Wednesday:

• Region 4: 25.6% positivity rate on Jan. 9; 23.1% on Jan. 2; 7.3% on Dec. 1; and 6.6% on Sept. 3.
  
  
• Bond County: 21.7% on Jan. 9; 22.6% on Jan. 2; 7.3% on Dec. 1; and 6.4% on Sept. 3.
  
  
• Clinton County: 23.2% on Jan. 9; 13.7% on Jan. 2; 6.6% on Dec. 1; and 5.5% on Sept. 3.
• Madison County: 23.8% on Jan. 9; 24.3% on Jan. 2; 7.5% on Dec. 1; and 6.9% on Sept. 3.
• Monroe County: 28.2% on Jan. 9; 23.2% on Jan. 2; 9.1% on Dec. 1; and 8.1% on Sept. 3.
• Randolph County: 19.4% on Jan. 9; 18% on Jan. 2; 3.0% on Dec. 1; and 6.0% on Sept. 3.
• St. Clair County: 29.2% on Jan. 9; 25.3% on Jan. 2; 7.7% on Dec. 1; and 6.4% on Sept. 3.
• Washington County: 30.8% on Jan. 9; 20.3% on Jan. 2; 6.3% on Dec. 1; and 10.9% on Sept. 3.

Region 4’s ICU bed availability, meanwhile, fell to 11% on Wednesday. It was at 13% last week, as high as 31% on Nov. 23 and stood at 28% in early December and 21% in early September. Of note, the availability fell to 8% on Jan. 8, the lowest figure since the state health department started tracking this data.

Region 4 vaccinations

According to data released by the state health department Wednesday, 354,991 Region 4 residents have been fully vaccinated out of the estimated 660,225 who live in the region, or about 53.7%

Madison and St. Clair counties continue to vaccinate the most individuals in Region 4, combining to fully vaccinate 284,946 people. Madison County leads the way with 145,596 fully vaccinated individuals.

Vaccine breakdown by county

Here is the latest vaccination data from Region 4:

• Bond County: 7,412 people have been fully vaccinated, or 44.57% of the population.
• Clinton County: 20,008 people have been fully vaccinated, or 53.16% of the population.
• Madison County: 145,596 people have been fully vaccinated, or 55.05% of the population.
• Monroe County: 19,846 people have been fully vaccinated, or 57.80% of the population.
• Randolph County: 15,264 people have been fully vaccinated, or 47.54% of the population.
• St. Clair County: 139,350 people have been fully vaccinated, or 53.38% of the population.
• Washington County: 7,515 people have been fully vaccinated, or 53.70% of the population.

For state totals, according to Wednesday’s data, 7,793,508 Illinois residents have been fully vaccinated, or 61.17%.

This story was originally published January 12, 2022 at 4:17 PM.