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McLean County’s active COVID caseload reaches its highest mark since April

Information signs are displayed at a department store in Rosemont, Ill., Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Nam Y. Huh/AP
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AP
The McLean County Health Department reported Monday the county's seven-day testing positivity rate reached 6.2% -- the highest mark since January.

McLean County stayed near its pace of 80 new coronavirus cases per day over the holiday weekend as the county topped 25,000 cases since the start of the pandemic.

The McLean County Health Department (MCHD) reported Monday the county's seven-day testing positivity ratereached 6.2%. That’s the county’s highest mark since January, based on data provided by the county and complied by WGLT.

The health department is urging more people to get tested for the coronavirus, suggesting lower testing levels don’t accurately reflect how widespread the virus may be in the county.

“Approximately 5,800 COVID-19 tests were conducted in McLean County over the extended four-day Thanksgiving holiday, which is approximately the recent average number of tests over a two-day weekend,” MCHD public affairs coordinator Marianne Manko said in a news release. “A high percentage of positive tests also suggests high coronavirus infection rates in a population.”

MCHD said 607 people are isolating at home and 20 McLean County residents are hospitalized with COVID-19, an increase from 19 since before Thanksgiving. The county’s active caseload of 629 cases is the county’s highest since April 23.

The rising caseload comes amid global concerns about a new and potentially more contagious Omicron variant that has prompted travel restrictions.

McLean County has reported 284 COVID-related deaths since the start of the pandemic.

McLean County’s COVID vaccination rate is 56.1%.

School cases

District 87 schools in Bloomington reported an increase in close contact quarantines last week (142), even though students only had two days of classes because of the Thanksgiving holiday.

The district reported 24 students and two staff members tested positive for the coronavirus last week, according to the district’s COVID-19 dashboard.

The larger Unit 5 district saw a sharp drop in new cases last week, from 90 the week of Nov. 14-10, to 54 last week, based on data from its COVID dashboard. The number of students in quarantine also dropped during the shortened week.

Eric Stock is the News Director at WGLT. You can contact Eric at ejstoc1@ilstu.edu.
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