Number of IL counties at elevated COVID-19 community levels drops to 28. What to know

Jan. 22—The U.S.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 28 Illinois counties are at elevated COVID-19 community levels as part of its Thursday update, down from 61 last week.

Hamilton, White and Hancock counties are at high levels, while 25 counties are at medium, including Washington, Marion, Perry, Jackson counties and more.

The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 10,967 new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases and 78 deaths in the week ending Jan. 15.

The CDC's COVID-19 community levels are updated Thursdays and based on metrics from the past seven days, including new hospital admissions per 100,000 people, average percent of staffed, inpatient beds occupied by COVID patients and new cases per 100,000 people.

The federal agency advises people in high community level areas to wear a mask indoors and on public transportation, and people at a higher risk of severe illness should consider precautions in medium-level areas.

In a Jan. 20 statement, IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra said he was encouraged to see COVID-19 numbers decline.

"I am encouraged to see COVID-19 community levels continuing to decrease across Illinois," Vohra said. "Rates of the XBB 'Kraken' variant, spreading throughout the East Coast, are slowly increasing in the Midwest, and we continue to monitor this new variant closely. However, we are fortunate at this time to see no increase in hospitalizations. IDPH is continuing to focus our efforts on preserving hospital capacity and protecting those Illinois residents most at risk for severe disease from COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses."

COVID-19 in St. Clair County, across Illinois

IDPH reports St. Clair County's weekly case rate is 77 per 100,000 people as of Jan. 19, and 22% of the county's intensive care unit beds are available.

The seven-day rolling number of hospital admissions is one, and IDPH reported one COVID-19 death in St. Clair County.

The CDC reports St. Clair County's weekly case rate at 77.4 per 100,000 people. There were 7.1 new COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 people there, according to the CDC, and 5.2% of the county's staffed inpatient beds are in use by COVID-19 patients.

St. Clair County's weekly case rate has decreased by 40.36% as of Jan. 18, the CDC reports, and test positivity is at 4.35%. The rate of tests performed has increased by 33.73% as of Jan. 12.

The statewide weekly case rate is 86.1 per 100,000 people in Illinois, according to IDPH, and ICU availability is at 18%. Illinois' seven-day rolling number of hospital admissions was 105, and IDPH reported 78 COVID-19 deaths.

As of Thursday night, IDPH reported 1,220 individuals in Illinois were hospitalized with COVID-19, including 151 ICU patients and 57 people on ventilators.

Vaccination and testing information is available online in St. Clair County.

Note: Some CDC data, such as test positivity rates, the number of tests performed and weekly case rate, update on different days. IDPH data and CDC data may not update at the same time, so metrics may vary across agencies.

This story was originally published January 22, 20236:00 AM.

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