St. Clair County officials answer questions about expected COVID-19 restrictions
Several people who watched St. Clair County’s daily COVID-19 briefing on Facebook Sunday asked questions related to news that the metro-east has hit a threshold that is likely to prompt Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker to impose tighter restrictions this week.
Metro East Region 4 surpassed an 8% seven-day rolling average positivity rate on coronavirus tests for three days in a row, according to statistics released Sunday by the Illinois Department of Public Health. The region consists of seven counties.
One of the most significant of the expected restrictions, also known as “resurgence mitigations,” is a ban on indoor dining and drinking at restaurants and bars. One resident asked if the St. Clair County Health Department would be revoking food establishment permits or liquor licenses in cases of non-compliance.
Deputy Director Myla Blandford said the health department will work with county state’s attorneys to determine if such action is appropriate and noted that Pritzker also brought up this possibility at his Thursday news conference.
“It’s not about revoking,” added Herb Simmons, director of St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency. “It’s not about fines. It’s about compliance. If everybody would just comply for the next couple weeks, we could get back to where we need to be. ... It’s not about shutting anything down. People just have to be responsible.”
Another resident asked why more restaurant and bar owners who are upset about a possible ban on indoor dining don’t help stop the coronavirus spread by asking people to follow the rules, noting some bars don’t even require employees to wear masks.
“I would feel free to drop a message to the owner,” Simmons said. “ ... A lot of times the owner of these establishments aren’t aware of what the employee is doing. A lot of times, people will call back and say, ‘We’ve contacted the owner or the manager and that situation has been rectified.’”
Another resident asked if officials in St. Clair County, which the resident praised for its good work in keeping positivity rates down, could get together with those in other counties and share some tips or perhaps do regional Facebook video briefings.
According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, county positivity rates in Region 4 as of Oct. 22 were:
- 6.5% seven-day average and 4.7% daily in St. Clair
- 7.3% seven-day average and 8.3% daily in Madison
7% seven-day average and 19.4 daily in Monroe
11.9% seven-day average and 15% daily in Randolph
12.1% seven-day average and 8.9% daily in Washington
- 12.5% seven-day average and 6.9% daily in Bond
- 15.9% seven-day average and 12.6 daily in Clinton
Blandford said representatives of county health departments do communicate on a regular basis. Simmons added that many mayors have been working together to solve coronavirus-related problems.
“A few of the other surrounding counties have openly come out and said they weren’t going to enforce the mandates, weren’t going to require masks to be worn or they were going to stay open (despite indoor-dining bans), and that’s the wrong attitude to have because the numbers show that it’s wrong.
“When we were able to get below the 6.5 threshold (in early October), we did that because of Team St. Clair’s hard work pulling those numbers down, and that’s what it’s going to take again. It’s going to take everybody, and if we can get the help from those outlying counties ...
“We’re all in this together. They’re not going to separate these counties out. So we have to do testing, we have to wear our masks, wash our hands and watch the social distancing.”
Illinois statistics for Sunday
This information is according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
New cases: 4,062 (-2,099)
New deaths: 24 (-39)
New tests: 72,097 (-11,420)
Total cases: 374,256
Total deaths: 9,505
Total tests: 7,268,952
Hospitalizations (as of Saturday): 2,616 (+118)
People in ICU (as of Saturday): 560 (+49)
People on ventilators (as of Saturday): 222 (+25)
Statewide positivity rate (from Oct. 17-23): 6.1% (+0.5%)
Region 4 statistics for Sunday
New cases: 182
New deaths: None
Daily positivity rate (as of Oct. 22): 7.4% (-1.6%)
7-day rolling average (as of Oct. 21): 8.2% (no change)
Hospitalizations (as of Saturday): 101 (+3)
Patients on ventilators (as of Saturday): 9 (no change)
Hospital bed availability: 27% (-1.0%)
ICU bed availability: 44% (-8.0%)
New cases from nearby counties outside Region 4 (as of Saturday): 0
New deaths from nearby counties outside Region 4 (as of Saturday): 0
ST. CLAIR COUNTY
Sunday’s new data: 57 new positives, 760 new tests administered
Total overall: 8,884 positives, 220 deaths, 111,265 tests administered, 53 patients hospitalized with two on ventilators
Positivity rates (as of Oct. 22): Daily — 7.5% (-0.6%); seven-day average — 7.3% (+0.7)
Additional data: The county’s new cases on included people under the age of 10 to people in their 90s.
Congregate living facilities: N/A
MADISON COUNTY
Sunday’s new data: 82 new positives, 1,200 new tests administered
Total overall: 7,215 positives, 153 deaths, 98,208 tests administered, 3,586 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Oct. 22): Daily — 8.3% (+0.6%); 7-day average — 7.3% (no change)
Additional data: No new data.
CLINTON COUNTY
Sunday: No new data.
Total overall: 1,714 positives, 26 deaths, 1,443 recoveries, 14 patients hospitalized
Positivity rates (as of Oct. 21): Daily — 12.3 (-2.8%); 7-day average — 16.2% (-0.7%)
RANDOLPH COUNTY
Sunday: No new data.
Total overall: 1,259 positives, 15 deaths, 15,535 tests administered, 1,093 recoveries, 4 hospitalizations
Positivity rates (as of Oct. 21): Daily — 12.9% (-0.9%); 7-day average — 10.8% (+1.0%)
MONROE COUNTY
Sunday: No new data.
Total overall: 919 positives, 27 deaths, 7 hospitalized
Positivity rates as (of Oct. 21): Daily — 10.6% (+2.4%); 7-day average — 6.6% (+0.3%)
BOND COUNTY
Sunday: No new data.
Total overall: 494 positives, 10 deaths, 21,398 tests administered, 3 hospitalizations
Positivity rates (as of Oct. 21): Daily — 13.1% (+10.2%); 7-day average — 14.8 (-1.1%)
WASHINGTON COUNTY
Sunday: No new data.
Total overall: 300 positives, 1 death, 271 recoveries, 2 hospitalizations
Positivity rates (as of Oct. 21): Daily — 15.8% (+9.9%); 7-day average — 12.6% (+2.3%)
MACOUPIN COUNTY
Sunday: No new data.
Total overall: 819 positives, 13 deaths, 430 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Oct. 21): Daily — 4.4% (no change); 7-day average — 6.9% (-1.7%)
JERSEY COUNTY
Sunday: No new data.
Total overall: 476 positives, 21 deaths, 414 recoveries, 7,632 tests
Positivity rates (as of Oct. 21): Daily — 13.0% (+1.20.8%); 7-day average — 9.9% (+0.2)
PERRY COUNTY
Sunday: No new data.
Total overall: 416 positives, 16 deaths, 362 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Oct. 21): Daily — 6.6% (+3.2%); 7-day average — 9.0% (-0.8%)
CALHOUN COUNTY
Sunday: No new data.
Total overall: 78 positives, 69 recoveries
Positivity rates (as of Oct. 21): Daily — 0% (no change); 7-day average — 1.5% (-0.6%)
State, nation, world statistics
Here are the latest available statistics from the Illinois Department of Public Health and Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus map as of Sunday early evening:
- Illinois: 374,256 cases, 9,505 deaths, 7,268,952 tests
- U.S.: 8,631,921 cases, 225,212 deaths, 3,422,878 recoveries
- World: 42,912,830 cases, 1,152,729 deaths, 28,890,122 recoveries
Testing sites in southwestern Illinois
Here are free COVID-19 testing options.
- Tuesday, Oct. 27: 9 a.m. to noon at Alhambra Township Park, South Alhambra Road in Alhambra.
- Thursday, Oct. 29: 9 a.m to noon at Granite City High School, 3101 Madison, Ave. in Granite City.
No appointment is necessary. Masks are required.
The Illinois Department of Public Health also offers free walk-up and drive-thru COVID-19 testing seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (or until capacity limits are met each day) at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Center, Argonne Drive in East St. Louis (Interstate 64 west, exit 4A).
Capacity is limited. Hours of operation are subject to change based on available equipment. For more information, visit dph.illinois.gov/testing.
Additionally, Touchette Regional Hospital and Southern Illinois Healthcare Foundation offer daily testing in Belleville and Wood River. Call 618-646-2596 for an appointment.
Get the latest news on coronavirus
BND.com will keep you updated throughout the day with information about the spread of the coronavirus in southwestern Illinois.
You can also find the most complete and up-to-date information from government sites including:
- State of Illinois’ COVID-19 page: coronavirus.illinois.gov
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/summary.html
- Federal government’s coronavirus page: cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
Who to call about mental health
Here are some resources from mental-health professionals for anyone struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic:
- Illinois Human Services Mental Health Division’s Call4Calm: Text the word “talk” to 552020 to text with a mental-health-care professional for free.
- Centerstone of Illinois Inc.: Call 618-462-2331 for virtual mental-health services.
- Chestnut Health Systems: Call 618-877-4420 for virtual mental-health services.
- Narcotics and Alcoholics Anonymous: Call 618-398-9409 or email metroeastnapr@gmail.com to learn about virtual meetings.
- Regional Disaster Mental Health Volunteer Response Team: Call a support line for health-care professionals at 618-381-5173.
Contact BND with tips, concerns, suggestions
If you have suggestions about something for the BND to cover regarding the COVID-19 pandemic or if you see a report that sounds suspicious on social media or anywhere else, please drop us a note at newsroom@bnd.com and include a link. We’ll check it out.
We’d like to hear from healthcare workers
The BND would like to speak with nurses, doctors and other health-care professionals who are on the front lines caring for patients in doctor’s offices, clinics and hospitals during this difficult time. We’re interested in hearing about your challenges and rewards, frustrations and accomplishments. How is this affecting you? Send us an email at newsroom@bnd.com.
Willing to share your COVID-19 story?
Have you recovered from coronavirus or are you in the process of recovering from COVID-19? We would like to hear from you on how you dealt with the respiratory disease. Send us an email at newsroom@bnd.com.
This story was originally published October 25, 2020 at 7:53 PM.