Union County remains at high community level for COVID-19
The Illinois Department of Public Health, IDPH, on Friday, July 29, reported 35,371 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 48 deaths, since July 22.
IDPH reported that according to the CDC, 66 counties were rated at high community level for COVID-19.
An additional 31 counties in Illinois were rated at medium community level.
Union County remained at a high community level. The county is served by the Southern 7 Health Department.
Along with Union County, Southern 7 counties which were rated at a high community level as of Friday were Hardin, Johnson, Massac, Pope and Pulaski.
Alexander County, also served by Southern 7, was rated at a medium community level.
Other area counties rated at a high community level as of Friday were Jackson and Williamson, IDPH reported.
“While it’s good news that one of our counties, Alexander, returned to medium level this week, residents are still urged to be cautious and follow safety precautions such as wearing a mask when indoors and making sure you are up-to-date on your vaccines” Southern 7 Health Department community outreach coordinator Shawnna Rhine said in a news release. “We all need every county to return to low level to make sure our hospitals aren’t negatively impacted.”
As of Friday, IDPH was reporting a total of 3,563,653 cases, including 34,357 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois since the beginning of the pandemic.
As of Thursday night, July 28, 1,459 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 153 patients were in the ICU and 43 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
“With 97 counties at an elevated risk level for COVID-19, the most important thing people can do to protect themselves is to make sure they are up-to-date on their vaccinations and boosters,” IDPH acting director Amaal Tokars said in a news release.
“This is the most effective means we have to protect ourselves from serious illness, hospitalization and death. So please don’t wait to get up-to-date!”
Tokars also continued to urge parents and guardians to take the steps necessary to get children vaccinated, especially small children under 5 for whom COVID-19 vaccines were recommended by the CDC on June 18.
Of Illinois’ total population, more than 76 percent had received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, more than 69 percent of Illinois’ total population was fully vaccinated and more than 54 percent of the vaccinated population has had an initial booster, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. All data are provisional and are subject to change.
Weekly new COVID-19 cases reported in Illinois
July 29: 35,371
July 22: 32,268
July 15: 33,066
July 8: 27,543
July 1: 28,216
June 24: 27,094
June 3: 32,605
May 6: 30,633
April 1: 8,426
March 4: 10,462
Feb. 4: 60,389
Jan. 7, 2022: 201,428
Dec. 3, 2021: 42,559
Nov. 5: 17,462
Oct. 1: 18,735
Sept. 3: 30,319
Aug. 6: 16,742
June 18, 2021: 928
Source: Illinois Department of Public Health
Union County COVID Cases Update
July 31: 6,001 total cases. 66 deaths.
July 28: 5,986 total cases. 66 deaths.
July 24: 5,924 total cases. 66 deaths.
July 21: 5,889 total cases. 66 deaths.
July 14: 5,815 total cases. 66 deaths.
July 7: 5,748 total cases. 66 deaths.
June 30: 5,691 total cases. 66 deaths.
June 1: 5,501 total cases. 65 deaths.
May 1: 5,384 total cases. 64 deaths.
April 1: 5,365 total cases. 64 deaths.
March 1: 5,334 total cases. 63 deaths.
Source: Illinois Department of Public Health website. Numbers represent statistics since the start of the pandemic.