The strain on Bloomington-Normal’s hospital capacity eased slightly Wednesday as more intensive care beds became available. But capacity still remains below targets the state of Illinois has set for the coronavirus pandemic.
The McLean County Health Department (MCHD) said Wednesday 81% of intensive care beds and all hospital beds are in use. The county had 92% percent of ICU beds occupied on Tuesday. Twenty-six McLean County residents are hospitalized with COVID-19--down three over the last 24 hours.
The county announced 101 new coronavirus cases and two COVID-related deaths; a man and woman both in their 80s. Both were associated with long-term care facilities.
That brings McLean County’s COVID death toll to 75.
The county reported 1,119 COVID patients are isolating at home.
MCHD said 123 additional patients have completed their time in quarantine and are considered recovered. The county reported 9,113 people have recovered since the start of the pandemic.
The county’s seven-day testing positivity rate dipped slightly to 9.4%,while the cumulative positivity rate stands at 6.4%, based on more than 161,300 tests taken since the pandemic began.
The COVID testing site at the Interstate Center in Bloomington remains open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Also, Hy-Vee in Bloomington has started drive-thru rapid antigen testing. Tests must be scheduled online and are only available to people who show symptoms, or who have had a known or suspected COVID exposure in the last 14 days.
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