Seven fatalities in Woodford County account for half of the deadliest single day in the Tri-County area since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 14 new deaths linked to the coronavirus reported Tuesday by Tri-County health officials top the previous high of 11 reported on Nov. 20. The other victims were four women and two men from Peoria County and a Tazewell County woman. The region’s death toll since mid-March stands at 362.
Peoria City/County Health Department Administrator Monica Hendrickson said 44 of those deaths happened in the past week alone.
The three counties currently report 24,500 confirmed COVID cases. That's an increase of 1,952 in the past week. The counties average 279 new cases a day. That continues a recent pattern of slight decreases in that statistic.
Hendrickson is reminding families to exercise caution during their holiday get-togethers, and to keep the in-person celebrations to household members only.
"A lot of the guidance we shared around Thanksgiving, we want to make sure our community is continuing that practice," Hendrickson said.
The anticipated post-Thanksgiving surge in COVID-19 cases never materialized. Hendrickson largely credits that development to most people adhering to public health guidance.
Health officials added 289 infections to the area’s case count Tuesday, bringing the total to 24,500. Peoria-area hospitals have 183 COVID-19 patients, including 49 in intensive care units, while 6,115 people in the region are in home isolation and 17,939 have recovered from the disease.
First doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to 1,801 people in the three counties. OSF Saint Francis Medical Center has inoculated about 10% of its workforce interacting with coronavirus patients.
The Illinois Department of Public Health announced 6,239 new COVID-19 infections and 116 more deaths Tuesday. Statewide, 911,308 residents have been infected and more than 15,414 have died.
Hospitals across the state were treating 4,571 COVID-19 patients as of Monday night, including 981 patients in intensive care units and 557 on ventilators. The preliminary positivity rate through Monday is 9%, though the state remains under Tier 3 restrictions in Governor JB Pritzker's Restore Illinois plan.
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