UPDATED 4:30 p.m. | McLean County health officials announced a 38th death due to coronavirus complications on Friday as the county’s seven-day testing positivity rate topped 6%, potentially putting the region closer to further mitigations.
The McLean County Health Department (MCHD) said the death involved a woman in her 80s. The department said she was associated with a long-term care facility. Her death is the 15th COVID-related death in October, the most of any month since the pandemic began.
MCHD reported 88 new confirmed coronavirus cases and 40 recoveries over the last 24 hours. Hospitalizations rose from nine to 14, though no one is in intensive care.
The department said 394 patients are isolating at home and 3.912 people have been released from quarantine and are considered recovered.
The county’s rolling positivity rate jumped to 6.1%, its highest level since Sept. 15 following outbreaks on the Illinois State University campus. The county’s positivity rate since the start of the pandemic is 4.4% based on more than 98,800 tests.
The 20-county region that includes McLean County has a 8.5%, positivity rate as of Friday. If it stays above 8% for three consecutive days, that will would trigger additional mitigations that the state recently enacted for much of west-central Illinois, including neighboring Logan County.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) on Friday announced new restrictions in Region 6 that includes neighboring DeWitt, Ford and Piatt counties. The mitigations include banning indoor service at bars and restaurants and gatherings of 25 people or more.
MCHD Administrator Jessica McKnight said the county and the rest of Region 2 could be there soon based on the current trend.
“If we don’t step up now, there’s really nothing that separates us from those other regions and what they are going through,” McKnight said.
She said the COVID-19 response requires an even greater vigilance now because the virus appears to be far more likely to spread since most people are not quarantined as much at home as they were during the early weeks of the pandemic.
“Those actions that may not have been as risky before, those are risky behaviors. I do think there’s a level of fatigue,” McKnight said. “People are tired because this is ongoing.”
MCHD reported 335 new coronavirus cases in the last week in McLean County. Nearly half of them (158) involve people under age 30. That includes 45 patients age 17 and under.
The McLean County Emergency Management Agency said 845 people were tested Thursday at the COVID-19 testing site at the Interstate Center in Bloomington. That's the second highest single-day total to date. Testing continues daily at the site from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
ISU reported five new coronavirus cases on Friday. The campus has 52 active cases and a weekly positivity rate of 2.7%.
Illinois Wesleyan University reports it has 10 active COVID cases and has had 137 confirmed positives since the start of the pandemic. IWU posts its COVID totals weekly.
Loading...
There's no subscription fee to listen or read our stories. Everyone can access this essential public service thanks to community support. Donate now, and help fund your public media.
