Coronavirus Positivity Rates Decline To 8 Percent In Metro East

EAST ST. LOUIS — Coronavirus positivity rates in the Metro East have dropped to 8 percent — the threshold that triggered new restrictions on bars and restaurants — for the first time since Aug. 10, according to data from the Illinois Department of Public Health. On Sept. 2, in response to still-rising positivity rates, Gov. J.B. Pritzker further tightened restrictions in the region, suspending all indoor service and imposing strict capacity limits on weddings, funerals and other gatherings.

According to state health officials, positivity rates must average less than or equal to 6.5 percent over a two-week period before the region can return to Phase 4 of the governor's reopening plan, as Region 7 — Will and Kankakee counties — did on Friday.

Most regions of Illinois reported a decline in the percentage of coronavirus tests that are coming back positive for the second consecutive week in a row, while the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the state fell by more than 8.5 percent, according to public health officials.

"Let that be a testament to the power of a community that embraces doctor-recommended mitigations proven to reduce risk and slow the spread," Pritzker said in a statement.

But 24 counties remain at a "warning level" for a surge in cases. They include: Bond, Bureau, Cass, Clinton, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, DeWitt, Edwards, Effingham, Greene, Jasper, Jo Daviess, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Rock Island, St. Clair, Shelby, Washington, Wayne, Williamson, Wabash, and Union.

Common factors causing counties to reach the warning level — meaning two or more of the eight county-level risk indicators established by the state reaches a potentially dangerous level — include university and college parties and sports, large gatherings, bars, clubs, weddings, funerals, nursing homes, prisons, jails, factories and schools, according to a statement from the state public health agency.

"Some communities lack access to convenient testing before people become symptomatic," it said. "In some counties, local law enforcement and states' attorneys are not enforcing important mitigation measures like social distancing and the wearing of face coverings."

The statewide positive-test rate is currently 3.6 percent. The number is a rolling, seven-day average and has held steady since Thursday. In the past 24 hours, labs in Illinois have processed 61,918 coronavirus tests, for a total of more than 4.9 million since the pandemic began.

The United States now has more than 6.7 million confirmed coronavirus infections, and at least 198,306 Americans have died from COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins University. Based on the latest predictions by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 205,000 to 217,000 Americans could be dead from the disease by Oct. 3.

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Data through Tuesday was released Friday. Find the latest metrics from all regions below:

Region 1 (Rockford EMS region)

• 6.4 percent coronavirus positivity on Sept. 15, up from 5.6 percent the prior week.
• Three new daily hospital admissions with "COVID-like illnesses," or CLI, on average in the past week, the same as the prior week
• 39 percent of surgical beds and 42 percent of ICU beds are available, compared to 43 percent of surgical beds and 46 percent of ICU beds a week earlier

Region 2 (Peoria EMS region)

• 5.9 percent positivity rate on Sept. 15, down by 1.1 percentage points compared to a week earlier
• 10 new hospital admissions a day with COVID-19 symptoms, the same as the prior week
• 39 percent of surgical beds and 38 percent of ICU beds are available, down from 42 percent of surgical beds and 44 percent of ICU beds last week

Region 3 (Springfield EMS region)

• 4.7 percent positivity rate on Sept. 15, down from 5.3 percent the week earlier
• Four new daily hospital admissions, up from three the previous four weeks
• 37 percent of surgical beds and 42 percent of ICU beds are available, compared to 38 percent of surgical beds and 39 percent of ICU beds a week earlier

Region 4 (Edwardsville EMS region)

• 8 percent positivity rate on Sept. 15, down by 2 percentage points in the preceding week. Three days of positivity below that threshold would allow the lifting of the additional restrictions imposed on the Metro East region in response to its high coronavirus positivity rates.
• Five new daily hospital admissions with COVID-19 symptoms, down from six the previous week
• 31 percent of surgical beds and 42 percent of ICU beds are available, the same percentage of surgical beds and 1 percentage points fewer ICU beds compared to a week earlier

Region 5 (Marion EMS region)

• 6.9 percent positivity rate on Sept. 15, up by 0.6 percentage points last week
• Four new average daily hospital admissions, the same as a week earlier
• 45 percent of surgical beds and 64 percent of ICU beds are available, compared to 47 percent of surgical beds and 61 percent ICU beds the prior week

Region 6 (Champaign EMS region)

• 2.7 percent positivity rate on Sept. 15, up by 0.3 points compared to the prior week. The region's coronavirus positivity rate remains the lowest in the state, aided by the comprehensive testing being conducted by the University of Illinois
• Seven people a day, on average, are being admitted to the region's hospitals with symptoms of the virus, down from nine a week earlier
• 38 percent of surgical beds and 45 percent of ICU beds are available, an increase of 1 percentage points for surgical beds and 2 points for ICU beds over the past week

Region 7 (Will, Kankakee counties)

• 5.6 percent positivity rate on Sept. 15, down by 0.9 percentage points in the past week and more than 2 points over the past two weeks. On Friday, the Pritzker administration announced restrictions on indoor dining it imposed on the counties last month had been lifted as a result of the rate staying under the 6.5-percent threshold.
• The rounded rolling average of the number of people newly admitted to hospitals with symptoms of COVID-19 fell from 11 to nine
• 30 percent of surgical beds and 34 percent of ICU beds were available at hospitals in the region, down from 33 percent of surgical beds and the same percentage of ICU beds a week earlier

Region 8 (Kane, DuPage counties)

• 5.5 percent coronavirus positivity rate on Sept. 15, up by 0.1 percentage points during the prior week
• 11 people a day are being hospitalized with COVID-19 symptoms, up from nine a week earlier
• 33 percent of surgical beds are available, 2 points more than last week, and 41 percent of beds in ICUs are available, 7 points fewer compared to the week earlier

Region 9 (Lake, McHenry counties)

• 5.7 percent positivity rate on Sept. 15, a decline of 0.7 percentage points compared to a week earlier. State public health officials last week removed Lake County from the list of counties at a warning level for a surge of cases.
• Four new hospital admissions every day, down from seven the week before and nine two weeks ago
• 41 percent of surgical beds and 60 percent of ICU beds were available, the same number of surgical beds and 4 points more ICU beds compared to the prior week

Region 10 (Suburban Cook County)

• 5.2 percent positivity rate on Sept. 15, down by 0.8 percentage points in the preceding week and 1.7 points during the past two weeks
• 20 people a day admitted to hospitals with COVID-19 symptoms, on average, up from 19 a week earlier
• 29 percent of surgical beds were available, down by 1 points compared to the prior week, while availability of ICU beds increased by 4 points to 38 percent

Region 11 (Chicago)

• 4.9 percent positivity rate on Sept. 15, down by 0.2 percentage points during the prior week to fall below 5 percent for the first time since early August.
• 5.1 percent positivity rate on Sept. 8, down by 0.5 percentage points during the prior week
• The average number of people admitted to the city's hospitals with CLI fell from 19 to 16.
• 25 percent of surgical beds were available and 34 percent of ICU beds remained available, down from 27 percent of surgical beds and 39 percent of ICU beds a week earlier.

Patch reporter Jonah Meadows contributed to this report