CDC reports 19 Illinois counties at medium COVID-19 community levels. See latest map
The number of Illinois counties at elevated COVID-19 community levels increased from 14 to 19 in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Thursday update. No counties were at a high level, but one, Richland, was at high last week.
The medium-level counties include Washington, Jefferson, Marion, Fayette, Johnson, Massac and more. St. Clair, Madison, Monroe, St. Louis City and St. Louis County were among the low level areas.
“We are happy to report no counties are at a high COVID-19 community level this week,” IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra said in a Feb. 17 statement. “However, we do know that the virus is still circulating with the potential to cause serious illness, especially to those most at-risk. IDPH is continuing to monitor COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses in our communities closely as we work on an orderly transition to the end of the statewide disaster declaration and national public health emergency.”
IDPH has reported 10,813 new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases and 68 deaths for the week ending Feb. 12.
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.
The preliminary seven-day statewide case rate is 85 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 Illinois residents, according to IDPH.
COVID-19 in St. Clair County
St. Clair County’s weekly case rate is 66.23 per 100,000 individuals, the CDC reports, up from 61.23 last week.
There were 7.4 new COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 county residents, and 3.7% of the county’s staffed, inpatient hospital beds are in use by patients with confirmed COVID-19.
Updated information on statewide intensive care unit availability and COVID-19 deaths in St. Clair County was not posted as of Friday afternoon, as IDPH’s surveillance data page had not been updated since Jan. 30.
Test positivity was at 2.97% in St. Clair County as of Feb. 13, and the rate of tests performed was down 5.33% as of Feb. 9.
As of Thursday night, IDPH reported 979 individuals were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Illinois, including 131 patients in ICU and 39 people on ventilators.
More than 26 million COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in Illinois, IDPH reports, and more than 79% of the state population has received at least one dose. More than 71% of Illinois residents have completed a primary vaccine series, and more than 19% have received a bivalent booster.
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.
