The Tri-County region is reporting more than 10,000 people infected with the coronavirus since the pandemic first struck this spring.
Peoria, Tazewell, and Woodford counties now report 10,894 COVID-19 cases. That's an increase of 920 cases over the weekend, as the rate of the virus' spread continues to grow exponentially.
Of the reported cases, 73% of those infected have recovered. Another 24% are at home isolating, and about .65% are hospitalized.
Three more people died over the weekend.
They include a Peoria County man in his 80s not in a long-term care facility, a Peoria County woman in her 90s, who lived at Christian Buehler, and a Tazewell County man in his 70s, also not in a long-term care facility. That brings the region's COVID-19 death toll to 170 people.
Currently, the area has 120 people hospitalized for COVID-19. That includes 34 suspected or confirmed COVID cases currently in intensive care in one of the four major Peoria-area hospitals.
The entire Tri-County region is considered to be at a coronavirus warning level, as the Greater Peoria area exceeds several risk factors, such as positivity rates and people with COVID-like symptoms seeking care in an emergency department.
Peoria County officials saidthey are seeking compliance with the governor's new restrictions on bars, restaurants, and gatherings, while many officials across the Illinois River in Tazewell and Woodford counties say they won't be enforcing the rules.
Region 2, which includes the northern half of central Illinois, is reporting a 13.2% positivity rate, continuing a pattern of unbroken growth for nearly two weeks.
The region must report three consecutive days at a 6.5% positivity rate, or lower, for restrictions to be lifted. At the current rate of acceleration, additional restrictions could be implemented. The first round of mitigations have failed to make a dent in positivity rates in several regions, including Region 1, where the Illinois Department of Public Health has announced additional mitigations to clamp down on new cases.
On Monday, Gov. JB Pritzker announced new restrictions on southern Illinois and several Chicago collar counties.
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