McLean County set new records for COVID-19 hospitalizations, daily cases, active cases and testing positivity rate on Tuesday as the coronavirus shows no signs of letting up.
The McLean County Health Department (MCHD) reported Bloomington-Normal hospitals are treating 62 COVID patients. That's the highest total since the start of the pandemic. Carle BroMenn and OSF St. Joseph medical centers indicate 97% of their beds are full and 92% of their intensive care beds are taken.
There are 45 McLean County residents hospitalized with COVID — an increase of 11 from Monday.
The health department also announced another COVID-related death. It was man in his 60s who was not associated with long-term care. The county has reported 309 COVID-related deaths since the start of the pandemic.
McLean County announced 548 new daily cases, pushing the county's total past 32,000 since the start of the pandemic. The county has 2,928 active coronavirus cases and 28,824 people have completed their time in quarantine and are considered recovered.
The county’s seven-day testing positivity rate rose to 17.8%. That tops the county’s previous record of 17.4% set on Dec. 30.
According to data from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), 58.3% of McLean County residents are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. More than 44,000 county residents have received a booster dose, or about 25% of the population.
COVID testing
More than 701,000 COVID-19 tests have been conducted in McLean County since March 2020. Nearly 19,000 tests have been conducted in the county in the last week as many people return to work or school from holiday travel.
The Interstate Center testing site has averaged 670 daily tests since Dec. 27. A spokesperson for Pekin-based Reditus Labs that runs the testing site said wait times average one to two hours on Mondays and Wednesdays, but were less than an hour on Tuesday and Thursday, after IDPH expanded to six days per week.
