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The Bloomington-Normal area is the third largest metropolitan area in the country, per capita, for which new cases of COVID-19 are increasing the fastest, according to a New York Times analysis.
McLean County added about 1,400 new cases last week, according to data from the Illinois Department of Public Health. That is enough to put Bloomington-Normal in third place on the New York Times’ list of metropolitan areas where new cases are increasing the fastest, on a population-adjusted basis. The list is titled “Where There May Be Bad News Ahead”.
Several metropolitan areas in the northern state of Illinois are on the list, including Springfield and the Ottawa-Peru region. This week, Illinois (and McLean County) began reporting both confirmed and probable cases combined, citing new guidelines from the CDC. It is not known if this changed the ranking of the New York Times.
Meanwhile, the spread of COVID-19 is increasing at Illinois State University.
The ISU reported 136 new COVID-positive students last week, including 35 more as of Wednesday alone. The test positivity rate on the ISU campus climbed to 8.2%.
However, the ISU is meeting its goal of weekly testing of 1,500 students. He tested 1,655 students last week.
The McLean County Department of Health (MCHD) did not release new data on COVID-19 on Wednesday, citing the veterans holiday.
State data suggests that a 42nd COVID-related death has occurred in McLean County. Details are expected to be released by MCHD on Thursday.
The county’s test positivity rate (7-day average) is also rising rapidly, reaching 9.2% on Monday (latest data available). That’s despite McLean County testing, on average, more than 1,300 people a day over the past week, mostly in the busy Interstate Center in western Bloomington. This place currently accommodates an average of 986 people per day.
Hospitalizations are also on the rise.
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