Number of IL counties at elevated COVID community level jumps from 5 to 15 this week
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rated 15 Illinois counties at elevated COVID-19 community levels in its Thursday update, compared to five elevated counties last week.
One county, Richland, was at a high, while Perry, Franklin, Jackson, Williamson, Union, Alexander, Pulaski, Fayette, Clay, Jasper, Edwards, Wabash, Stephenson and Jo Daviess were at medium levels.
The increase in elevated counties came after two consecutive weeks of zero Illinois counties at high, but the numbers are still more encouraging than some seen in the recent past. The Land of Lincoln entered 2023 with 73 elevated counties Jan. 6, and other weeks saw between 20 and 59 elevated counties.
“We are seeing a slight increase in COVID-19 community levels this week,” Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Sameer Vohra said in a Feb. 10 statement. “However, as COVID-19 community levels are relatively low and the State of Illinois plans for the end of the statewide disaster declaration in May, IDPH remains dedicated to staying vigilant and protecting the most vulnerable Illinoisians.”
IDPH announced Friday its launch of a rapid response unit called the “STATeam” (support, treatment and access team) that will be deployed on an “as needed basis” to long-term care facilities with a sudden surge of COVID-19 cases.
STATeam support will include testing, vaccination, contact tracing and treatment, IDPH said.
The CDC’s COVID-19 community levels are updated Thursdays and based on metrics from the past seven days, including new hospital admissions per 100,000 people, average percent of staffed, inpatient beds occupied by COVID patients and new cases per 100,000 people.
People in high community level areas are advised to wear a mask indoors and on public transportation, and the federal agency says people at a higher risk of severe illness should consider precautions in medium-level areas.
COVID-19 in St. Clair County and across Illinois
IDPH reported 10,234 new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases and 62 deaths in the week ending Feb. 5. As of Thursday, the department reported 834 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Illinois, including 100 in intensive care units and 34 on ventilators.
The state’s preliminary seven-day case rate is 80 per 100,000 Illinois residents, according to IDPH.
Updated information regarding statewide ICU availability was not posted as of Friday afternoon, as IDPH’s surveillance data page had not been updated since Jan. 30. An update on any COVID-19 deaths in St. Clair County was also unavailable.
The county’s weekly case rate per 100,000 individuals is at 61.23, the CDC reports, compared to 69.31 last week.
Test positivity is at 2.89% in the county as of Feb. 6, down from 3.51% in the previous week. The rate of tests performed was up 18.68% as of Feb. 2.
The weekly average for new COVID-19 hospital admissions was 8.5 per 100,000 county residents as of Feb. 9, the CDC reports, and 4% of the county’s staffed inpatient beds were in use by patients with confirmed COVID-19.
Information about vaccination and testing is available online in St. Clair County.
Note: Some CDC data, such as test positivity rates, the number of tests performed and weekly case rate, update on different days. IDPH data and CDC data may not update at the same time, so metrics may vary across agencies.
