Positive cases continuing to rise in region

Positive cases of COVID-19 were continuing to climb as of late last week in the area counties served by Southern Seven Health Department.

The health department serves Union, Johnson, Pope, Hardin, Alexander, Pulaski and Massac counties in Southern Illinois.

Massac County: Orange Warning Level

The health department also reported that on July 16, Massac County moved into an orange warning level on the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) risk metrics.

Massac County had an amount of new cases per 100,000 and test positivity percentage metrics that were causing the elevated risk level.

A third risk metric for ICU availability remained stable and was not currently impacting Massac County.

An orange designation indicates warning signs of increased COVID-19 risk in the community.

Cases on Upswing, Especially Among Unvaccinated

Southern Seven Health Department contact tracing outreach coordinator Nathan Ryder reported on Friday, July 16, that positive cases were on the upswing in the region – especially among those who not been vaccinated against COVID-19.

“The new Delta variant, which we believe is circulating throughout the region, is much more contagious but the COVID-19 vaccines are proving effective against it,” Ryder shared on Friday.

“While numbers are lower than what we were seeing at the height of the pandemic, the fact that we’re seeing this rapid increase in new COVID-19 cases across the Southern Seven region is a troubling sign, especially with the large amount of people who have chosen not to get vaccinated,” Ryder stated.

“Massac County isn’t alone in the rising number of positive COVID-19 cases. We’ve been seeing these new positive cases growing for the past three weeks,” Ryder added.

The health department has been encouraging people in Southern Illinois to get vaccinated against COVID-19, especially with the rapid spread of the Delta variant which has been impacting neighboring states.

The health department also says that people can continue to follow now familiar mitigation procedures to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, including wearing a mask, washing hands frequently and keeping your distance, especially in crowded situations.

The health department reported that as of July 16, 37,258 doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered in the seven-county region since the vaccine first arrived on Dec. 16, 2020.

The average of individuals who had been totally vaccinated in the Southern Seven region was 26.4 percent.

Provisional data posted on the Illinois Department of Public Health’s website showed the following numbers for the percentage of the population in the seven area counties which had been fully vaccinated:

Union County, 38.17 percent. Alexander County, 14.87 percent. Hardin County, 25.24 percent. Johnson County, 33.16 percent. Massac County, 27.56 percent. Pope County, 23.48 percent. Pulaski County, 22.66 percent. Statewide, the vaccination rate was 49.97 percent.

Southern Seven Health Department said information on how to schedule a vaccination is available by calling 618-634-2297.

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Southern Seven Health Department on July 16 reported 33 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Union County. 

The cases involved three persons under 10, three teens, three in the 20s, five in the 30s, eight in the 40s, six in the 50s, one in the 60s, three in the 70s and one 80-plus years old.

The number of newly confirmed cases has risen steadily since June 10. On that date, no new cases were reported in the county.

One new case was reported June 18, followed by five on June 25, 27 on July 2, 27 on July 9 and 33 on July 16.

The numbers were provisional and subject to change. The update was for the week prior to July 16. 

As of July 16, Union County had recorded a total of 2,325 cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. A total of 2,245 recovered cases were reported. 

As of July 16, there were 48 active cases in the county. A total of 32 deaths had been reported in the county since the start of the pandemic.

Southern Seven Health Department shared the following update on cases in the region, as of July 16:

66 newly confirmed cases. 42 newly recovered. 86 total active cases. 103 total deaths. 7,127 cumulative total cases.

The Gazette-Democrat

112 Lafayette St.
Anna, Illinois 62906
Office Number: (618) 833-2158
Email: news@annanews.com

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