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Twenty Illinois counties are now on “alert level” for the coronavirus, the state’s health department said on Friday.
The warning means each of the counties has seen an increase in two or more “COVID-19 risk indicators,” the health department said.
Counties now under a warning include: Bureau, Cass, Clay, Clinton, Franklin, Greene, Grundy, Hancock, Henderson, Jefferson, Logan, Madison, Monroe, Moultrie, Randolph, St. Clair, Union, White, Will and Williamson.
Last week, 14 counties were on “alert level”, of which 11 remained on the list on Friday.
The counties have each “seen epidemics associated with weddings, businesses, neighborhood gatherings, parties, long-term care facilities and other gathering places, trips to neighboring states, bars, sports camps, and have spread among members of the same household who do not isolate themselves at home, “IDPH said in a statement. Some cases were also linked to schools, health officials said. ,
“Public health officials are watching people who don’t have social distancing or who don’t cover their faces,” the IDPH statement said. “Additionally, there are reports of sick individuals attributing their symptoms to allergies or other illnesses, or not reporting their symptoms or close contact.”
Some of the metrics assessed to determine whether a county has reached a “warning level” include:
• New cases per 100,000 inhabitants. If there are 50 or more new cases per 100,000 people in the county, that triggers a warning.
• Number of deaths. This metric indicates a warning when the number of deaths increases by more than 20% for two consecutive weeks.
• Weekly positivity test. This metric indicates a warning when the 7-day test positivity rate exceeds 8%.
• ICU availability. If there are less than 20% available intensive care units in the area, it triggers a warning.
• Weekly emergency room visits. This metric indicates a warning when the weekly percentage of COVID-19 emergency room visits increases by more than 20% for two consecutive weeks.
• Weekly hospital admissions. A warning is triggered when the weekly number of hospitalizations for a COVID-19-type illness increases by more than 20% for two consecutive weeks.
• The tests are executed. This metric is used to provide context and indicate if further testing is needed in the county.
• Clusters. This metric examines the percentage of COVID-19 cases associated with clusters or outbreaks and is used to understand a sharp increase in cases.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said earlier this week that most of Illinois’ 11 regions are seeing increases in positivity rates, but two in particular are reporting “troubling trends” as the state continues. to see an increase in coronavirus parameters.
Already region 4 of the state, the Eastern Metropolitan Region, is subject to more stringent mitigation requirements implemented by the state after the area exceeded an 8% positivity rate for three consecutive days. On Tuesday, the region had a 9.4% positivity rate and Pritzker warned that additional restrictions such as the complete closure of restaurants and drinks inside could soon be put in place.
In addition to region 4, Pritzker said regions 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, and 11 also saw an increase in their seven-day mobile average positivity rate. Only three regions – regions 1, 5 and 6 – saw slight declines.
Among those seeing increased positivity rates, Pritzker said officials are “watching closely” what he called “troubling trends” in Region 7, which includes Kankakee and Will counties, as well as region 5 in southern Illinois.
“I would like to re-emphasize that local elected officials and health officials must pay close attention to data from their communities and, if necessary, scale up and impose larger mitigation measures on a targeted basis to reduce the number of infections and the positivity rate, “Pritzker says. If not, it may only be a matter of time before the state is forced to intervene on a regional basis in other areas and impose resurgence mitigation measures like closing bars, indoor dining, limiting all indoor gatherings to an even smaller capacity and more to reduce the spread of the virus. “
Illinois health officials reported more than 2,200 new cases of the coronavirus on Friday, as well as a third consecutive record high.
According to new data from the Illinois Department of Health, the total number of coronavirus cases during the pandemic so far stands at 215,929.
The 24 additional deaths on Friday bring the death toll from the virus in the state to 7,857 total.
Officials said a total of 51,736 new tests were performed in the past 24 hours, setting another daily record and surpassing Thursday’s 51,612.
Friday’s results also lower the state’s 7-day positivity rate to 4.3%, new data shows.
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