UPDATED 5:55 p.m. | More than 10,000 people from McLean County have now tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.
The count hit the 10,000-case threshold over the weekend. It took 157 days (from March to August) for McLean County to reach 1,000 cases. It took 10 days to go from 9,000 to 10,000.
The county has added 309 new cases since Friday, making for 10,115 since March. That's nearly 6% of the population.
McLean County is in the midst of a stubborn second wave of COVID. The community has had more than 1,000 active cases (mostly people isolating at home) every day since Nov. 10.
"The emergency use authorization for a COVID-19 vaccine is a major step forward in our fight against this virus," McLean County Health Department Administrator Jessica McKnight said Monday. "As we get ready to wrap up what has been a difficult year of loss and uncertainty, there is a light of hope at the end of the tunnel. It doesn’t mean that the fight is over, but we are one step closer to getting back to normal. It will take time for the vaccine to be more widely available. Stopping this pandemic will require using all the tools we have available to us."
The combination of getting vaccinated and following CDC’s recommendations to protect yourself and others will offer the best protection from COVID-19, she said.
By the numbers
The county's testing positivity rate (7-day average) is 9.3%, up slightly from the end of last week and slightly above the statewide average (9.1%).
Bloomington-Normal's hospital capacity improved slightly over the weekend; 73% of ICU beds are in use, and 85% of total hospital beds are in use, MCHD reported.
In Region 2 (which includes McLean County), about 15% of ICU beds are available. That's below the state's 20% warning threshold.
Fifteen McLean County residents are now hospitalized, the same as on Friday. (Local hospitals are treating people who live in McLean County and those from elsewhere.)
Editor's note: This story has been updated from its original version, to correct the number of days it took for McLean County to reach 1,000 cases. It was 157 days, not 208 days.
Coronavirus - Testing Positivity Rate
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