Perry County now at state warning level for coronavirus
Perry County is among eight southern Illinois counties now considered to be at a warning level for the novel coronavirus, the Illinois Department of Public Health has announced.
The other southern Illinois counties are Jackson, Randolph, Gallatin, St. Clair, Johnson, White and Saline. Three others on the list are Sangamon, Cass and Jo Daviess.
The number of COVID-19 cases has risen dramatically in southern Illinois in recent weeks, but a county enters a warning level only when it has an increase in two or more COVID-19 risk indicators from the state's COVID-19 Resurgence Mitigation plan.
In Perry County, the local health department was notified on Sunday of 24 additional positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the number of cases overall to 128. Fifty of those are considered active cases; 77 people have recovered and one person has died.
The Perry County Health Department added that among the 24 new cases are 14 patients at a Pinckneyville long-term care facility and three employees of that same facility.
The facility, Pinckneyville Nursing & Rehabilitation, has had two more employees also test positive, but they live outside of Perry County, the health department said.
As of Sunday none of the nursing home residents or employees were hospitalized.
The 24 diagnosed individuals include one teenage female, two men in their 20s, a man in his 30s, four women and one man in their 50s, two men in their 60s, two men in their 70s, two men and three women in their 80s and six women in their 90s.
According to the IDPH, too many residents of the 11 counties now considered at "warning" status have not been wearing face coverings.
The IDPH also said the counties have had outbreaks associated with business operations and activities that pose a higher risk for disease spread - like graduation ceremonies, a rise in cases among late teens and 20s, parties and social gatherings, people going to bars, long-term care outbreaks, clusters of cases associated with restaurants and churches, and big sports events including soccer, golf and softball tournaments.
Public health officials are finding that most contacts to cases are testing positive as well.
The IDPH, however, offered kudos to local health officials who have taken swift action to help slow the spread of the virus. Examples they cite include Perry County hospitals and nursing homes temporarily suspending visitors; the state's attorney in Jackson County allowing the local food ordinance to be used to enforce COVID-19 guidance at restaurants and bars; and the Springfield mayor requiring bar employees to wear masks or be subject to fines.
IDPH uses numerous indicators to determine if a county is experiencing stable COVID-19 activity, or if there are warning signs of increased COVID-19 risk. You can find information of each county's status at www.dph.illinois.gov/countymetrics.
According to those statistics on Monday, Perry County is at "warning" levels in three of eight criteria:
New cases per 100,000: Perry County has 118 cases per 100,000; the target is 50 or less.
Weekly positivity rate: Perry County is 10.5%; the target is less than 8%.
Test performed: This metric is used to provide context and indicate if more testing is needed.
The criteria where Perry County is within normal ranges are: number of deaths; ICU availability; weekly emergency department visits; weekly hospital admissions; and clusters.
The IDPH says these metrics are intended to help local leaders, businesses, local health departments, and the public make informed decisions about personal and family gatherings, as well as what activities they choose to do. The metrics are updated weekly, with data from the Sunday-Saturday of the prior week.
People with questions are invited to call the Perry County Health Department at (618) 357-5371.