Health and Medicine

UPDATED 1:00 P.M. | McLean County health officials announced the county’s first two COVID-related deaths in a week on Wednesday. The drop in fatalities comes following a surge of 33 deaths in the first two weeks of 2021.

There's a twisted silver lining to the COVID-19 pandemic: Some gay and bisexual men are able to donate blood for the first time. 

Federal Drug Administration (FDA) rules long forbid men who have sex with other men from donating blood. The policy dates back to the height of the the AIDS crisis, when HIV was not well understood and there was fear of a "contaminated" blood supply.

Heart disease and cancer usually top the list of the reasons people die each year in central Illinois and throughout the state.  The numbers tell a grim story: 48 weeks into the pandemic, you can add COVID-19 to the list.

COVID-19 is the third leading cause of death statewide and in most central Illinois counties, including McLean, Peoria, Woodford, and Tazewell.

Hospital beds in Bloomington-Normal have reached 92% capacity, even as the number of McLean County residents hospitalized due to coronavirus complications has remained stable.

A COVID-19 outbreak at Heritage Health in Normal has become the deadliest such event at a long-term care facility in McLean County.

UPDATED 5:35 P.M. | McLean County health officials reported a new one-day record of 222 coronavirus cases on Friday, while the county’s rolling testing positivity rate surged to its highest level since early December.

McLean County health officials announced four more deaths related to COVID-19 on Wednesday, pushing the county’s death toll since the start of the pandemic to 101.

McLean County is reporting 84 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the community's total probable and confirmed cases to 11,355.

Two new deaths linked to COVID-19 in McLean County bring the death toll to 88, while the county’s hospitals still report 96% of intensive care beds in use.

Bloomington-Normal’s intensive care beds have nearly reached capacity even as the county’s active coronavirus caseload drops to its lowest level in six weeks.

McLean County health officials said Tuesday four more county residents have died of COVID-19 complications, while hospital capacity has become increasingly strained by a rise in more serious cases.

With plans for saliva-based testing held up at the federal level, Illinois State University will begin in-house rapid antigen testing in January.

The McLean County Nursing Home in Normal is seeing a spike in coronavirus cases.

Bloomington Mayor Tari Renner is isolating at home after receiving a positive test for the coronavirus on Tuesday. Renner said he immediately sought a test after his son tested positive.

Renner told WGLT in an interview Tuesday evening he "sort of lost his voice" the day before Thanksgiving and had some upper respiratory symptoms six days later.

The Carle Mobile Health Clinic made its Bloomington debut Monday, partnering with District 87 to offer physicals and immunizations for students.

Kelly Parker manages Carle's mobile health services. She said transportation, scheduling and cost already  are barriers for some families to get their kids' health care squared away.

Parker said the COVID-19 pandemic adds another element.

UPDATED 5:25 P.M. | McLean County’s COVID-19 testing positivity rate dropped below 11% on Friday after a week of gradual increases.

Bloomington-Normal hospitals have a few more intensive care beds available than they did heading into the Thanksgiving weekend, but a rise in COVID testing positivity could increase demand for those beds soon.

UPDATED 5:35 p.m. | Unit 5 schools will move to all-remote learning starting next Wednesday because of rising coronavirus infection numbers.

McLean County health officials announced 421 new coronavirus cases and the 42th COVID-related death on Thursday, as the county’s testing positivity rate jumped to 10.9%. That’s the highest rate since Sept. 6, following a surge of new cases when Illinois State University students returned to campus.