Data from the McLean County Health Department (MCHD) show a bulk of new coronavirus cases involve children and young adults as schools prepare to fully reopen and college students return to campus after a year of mostly remote and hybrid learning.
On Wednesday, the county announced 58 new daily and 286 weekly coronavirus cases. Both figures are the highest in the county since May 7. MCHD said the county has had 14 new infections among 12-17 year-olds. People ages 18 and 19 make up 12 new cases.
The largest subset of new cases (58) comes from those in their 20s. Adults in their 30s had 47 new cases.
Twelve McLean County residents are hospitalized with COVID-19. That’s unchanged since Monday. Bloomington-Normal hospitals say they have 17 COVID patients under their care.
Two-hundred-sixty people in McLean County are isolating at home, while 39 people were released from quarantine in the last day. The county reported 18.753 people are considered recovered from a COVID-19 infection.
The county’s COVID-related death toll is 242.
McLean County’s seven-day positivity rate rose to 4.5%, its highest total since May 4. The county’s cumulative positivity rate is 4.8%, based on 400,900 tests conducted since the start of the pandemic.
Vaccine divide
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) released new data Wednesday that track vaccination rates by ZIP code. The data reflect an urban-rural divide seen across much of the state and country.
Most the higher vaccination rates are in more densely populated areas, while rural areas generally show a lower percentage of vaccinated residents.
The ZIP codes for Shirley and Downs showed the highest fully-vaccinated rates of 70.2% and 65.3%, respectively, as of the latest data through Aug. 10.
Two Bloomington ZIP codes topped 60%. Normal came in below the county average at 44.3%. The county vaccination rate is 50.2%. Stanford, Saybrook, Atlanta, Chenoa and El Paso ZIP codes all have vaccination rates below 40%.
According to IDPH, nearly 173,400 COVID vaccines have been administered in McLean County.
MCHD has added a new vaccine clinic from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Aug. 29 at the Center for Hope Ministries, 14940 Old Colonial Road, Bloomington.
