COVID-19 transmission rates at record high

All of the counties served by the Southern Seven Health Department, including Union County, remained at an orange warning level status on the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) risk metrics.

Southern Seven Health Department serves Union, Alexander, Hardin, Johnson, Massac, Pope and Pulaski counties. 

An update on the warning level status was announced Jan. 28 by the Illinois Department of Public Health, IDPH.

Southern Seven Health Department COVID-19 outreach coordinator Nathan Ryder said in an email that a “small improvement” was seen last week in the number of ICU beds available for the region.

Even with the small improvement, COVID-19 transmission rates remained at record high levels, Ryder stated.

“Residents should continue taking precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 throughout our community,” Ryder advised.

As of late last week, every county in Illinois remained at the orange warning level due to the rapid spread of COVID-19.

The amount of new cases per 100,000 people, test positivity percentage metrics and reduced ICU bed availability at area hospitals were causing elevated risk levels.

According to IDPH, an orange designation indicates warning signs of increased COVID-19 risk in the community. Residents are asked to remain vigilant to slow the spread of the virus.

A warning for new case rate indicates the rate is greater than 50 cases per 100,000 people.

A warning for test positivity indicates that the percentage was above 8 percent from the previous seven-day period.

A warning for ICU availability shows the number of ICU beds has dropped below a 20 percent availability threshold.

The new cases per 100,000 people rate is a unit of measure calculated as a rate to compare the number of cases in large and small counties.  

The rate is calculated by dividing the county case count for seven days by county population times 100,000.  

This describes the potential number of people who are currently ill and may be infectious in the county.  

Union County had 2,565 potential new cases (based on 432 positive cases) per 100,000 reported. The test positivity percentage for the county was 15.4 percent out of 3,107 tests. ICU availability was 6.2 percent.

Eight different indicators are used to determine a county’s designation.   

A county is considered at the orange warning level when at least two of the main indicators are going in the wrong direction.  

“We’ve seen a tiny, two-percentage point improvement in the number of ICU beds available in our region this week,” Ryder said in a Jan. 28 news release.

“Unfortunately five of our counties have seen their number of positive COVID-19 cases increase this past week and six out of the seven counties have seen their test positivity rate increase as well.” 

As of late last week, Massac County had the third highest positivity rate (31.8 percent out of 1,212 positive tests) in the state behind Brown County (32.8 percent out of 2,368 positive tests) and McHenry County (35.6 percent out of 35,797 positive tests) in the northwest Chicago suburbs.

Southern Seven Health Department continues to urge area residents to get vaccinated or boosted against COVID-19. 

The health department advised that COVID vaccines and boosters are proving to be effective in preventing people from becoming severely ill or requiring hospitalization.

The health department also recommends that everyone continue to follow COVID-19 mitigation procedures to help prevent the spread of COVID-19: wear a mask, wash your hands frequently and keep your distance, especially in crowded situations or indoor environments. 

Children ages 5-11 are now able to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Booster shots for all three vaccines are also available for all adults.

Information on how to get vaccinated against COVID-19 is available online at https://www.southern7.org.