McLean County's daily coronavirus caseload has topped 300 for the first time since mid-May with the county announcing 68 new COVID-19 cases on Friday.
Marianne Manko, public affairs coordinator for the McLean County Health Department (MCHD), said it's a concerning trend, adding masks remain a critical COVID prevention strategy, especially indoors or when social distancing isn't possible.
“A lot of people have made that decision for themselves because that’s really what might be the safest thing for them, taking control of their own health situation. That’s especially important for people who are unvaccinated,” Manko said.
Nine McLean County residents are hospitalized with COVID-19. That’s down from 12 on Thursday, while Bloomington-Normal hospitals report they have 18 COVID patients under their care. The county has 308 patients who are isolating at home and 18,824 people have been released from quarantine and are considered recovered.
McLean County’s seven-day testing positivity rate dipped to 4.7%, while the county’s cumulative positivity remains 4.8%, based on more than 404,200 tests conducted since the start of the pandemic.
Data from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) show more than 174,600 COVID vaccines have been put in arms in McLean County. Just over half of McLean County’s population (50.5%) is fully vaccinated; that trails the statewide rate of 51.5%
Mask protest
Meanwhile, a group fighting mask mandates protested outside the MCHD building in downtown Bloomington on Friday. An organizer for the so-called “Unmask the Kids freedom rally” called mask mandates a “draconian unconstitutional overreach” in an email to media.
Manko said county officials are simply following public safety protocols from the state.
“We intend to promote and follow the guidance of the Illinois Department of Public Health and the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) regarding any social mitigations that we really need to have to protect our children from COVID-19. We understand (masks) are unpopular,” she said.
Kids return to schools
Some McLean County schools are welcoming all students back into the classroom this week after nearly a year-and-half of virtual or hybrid learning.
MCHD administrator Jessica McKnight said the department has worked closely with school nurses and administrators on health protocols to ensure safety is top priority.
“Parents can take comfort in that, knowing that superintendents, the districts are dedicated to creating as safe an environment as they possibly can, (and) also the importance of in-person learning. They are focusing on both of those things,” McKnight said.
All K-12 schools in Illinois are under a universal mask mandate until further notice.
McLean County Unit 5 and Bloomington District 87 students start the new school year next week.
Contract tracers extended
MCHD plans to keep much of its contact tracing staff at least through the end of the year to help contact people who may have been exposed to COVID-19.
McKnight said the county planned to keep the contact tracers only through August, but a surge in coronavirus cases sparked by the Delta variant required the extension.
“We were already seeing the Delta variant. We look at lot to the U.K. (United Kingdom) and Europe because they tend to be a little bit higher than us. Looking at the data we had in July knowing that was a possibility, we made the decision to extend this through December at least and we can ... continue to assess the needs.”
McKnight said the county has about half as many contract tracers now as it did at the pandemic's peak, when it employed more than 50. She said the state offers a surge capacity call center the county can use when it gets backed up on calls.
The federal government is paying for the contact tracers.
