McLean County health officials reported 19 new confirmed coronavirus cases Friday as the number of active cases and positivity rate continue to drop.
The McLean County Health Department (MCHD) said the county has 202 COVID patients isolating at home; 10 are hospitalized, including people two in intensive care.
The county reports 2,993 people from among 3,227 confirmed coronavirus cases have been released from isolation and are considered recovered.
McLean County’s seven-day COVID positivity rate dropped to 3.3% and the county’s cumulative testing rate stands at 4.6% based on nearly 70,000 tests conducted since the start of the pandemic.
MCHD Administrator Jessica McKnight said the community's vigilance has helped the health metrics improve after a sharp rise in cases in late August and early September.
"We had a surge and then we had people really taking the virus seriously," McKnight said. "This is a noticeable effect of that. Now is not the time for us as a community to take [a foot] off that gas pedal."
Over the last week, the county has had 152 new confirmed coronavirus cases. Sixteen are people age 17 and under and 86 of them are people under age 40.
The county has had 22 COVID-related deaths, including four in the last week.
Flu season
McKnight urges people to get a flu vaccine as flu season approaches to keep medical facilities from being overrun with patients if COVID-19 cases were to spike again.
“Getting a flu vaccine is more important than ever during this flu season to protect yourself, your family and your community,” McKnight said. “A flu vaccine can also help reduce the burden on our health care systems responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and save medical resources for care of COVID-19 patients.”
McKnight said because some flu and COVID-19 symptoms are similar, it may be hard to tell the difference, so someone displaying symptoms may need a test to confirm their diagnosis.
Loading...
We’re living in unprecedented times when information changes by the minute. WGLT will continue to be here for you, keeping you up-to-date with the live, local and trusted news you need. Help ensure WGLT can continue with its in-depth and comprehensive COVID-19 coverage as the situation evolves by making a contribution.
