Mind your COVID P's and Q's and the three W's
New coronavirus cases level off at 1,500, but four counties get warning
The bridge across the Mississippi River from Quincy to Missouri, where “hot spots” were blamed for a rising risk of infection in Adams County. (One Illinois/Ted Cox)
By Ted Cox
Newly confirmed daily cases of COVID-19 leveled off in Illinois at just over 1,500 Friday, but the Department of Public Health issued formal warnings to four counties where the positivity rate is rising on coronavirus testing.
The Illinois Department of Public Health confirmed 1,532 new cases of COVID-19 Friday, down from 1,624 on Thursday to end a streak of daily increases. Thursday’s total had been the highest since Memorial Day. That brought the state total to 168,457, while 19 new deaths took the statewide toll to 7,385.
But that came from a record 44,330 tests administered in a day to produce a positivity rate of 3.5 percent, consistent with the seven-day rate of 3.4 percent. Hospitalizations were also down slightly from earlier in the week, when Gov. Pritzker issued a stern warning to the Metro East region for rising positivity rates.
On Friday, however, the Department of Public Health singled out four countries to receive warnings about a rising risk of COVID-19 affections in the area. They included:
Adams County, including Quincy, where the rise was blamed on “larger social events, health-care exposure, travel to hot spots including those in neighboring Missouri and Iowa, places of worship, and youth sports.”
LaSalle County, southwest of Naperville, where it was blamed on “large family and social gatherings, increase in cases among people younger than 29 years, younger people visiting bars and attending larger social events, and inconsistencies with masking requirements.”
Peoria County, where it was blamed on “increases in cases among people younger than 29 years, large gatherings including Fourth of July parties, and people traveling to Florida, Iowa, Texas, and Wisconsin.”
Randolph County, directly south of St. Louis in the Metro East area, where it was blamed on “congregate settings, numerous bars not complying with distancing and masking, a large party with more than 200 people, and among households.”
All 11 regions across the state remained in the fourth phase of the Restore Illinois plan to reopen the economy, after Pritzker warned Wednesday that Metro East could face reimposed restrictions if cases there continued to rise. The governor ordered Illinoisans to continue to observe the three W’s — wear a mask, watch your social distancing, wash hands — and pooh-poohed those who have tried to make face coverings a “political” statement.
“The enemy is not your mask,” he said. “If you’re not wearing a mask in public, you’re endangering everyone around you, so the enemy is you.”
Nationally, the United States topped 4 million infections on Thursday, with more than 147,000 deaths now attributed to the coronavirus.