Randolph County has 225 active COVID-19 cases

Randolph County had 55 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed Nov. 15 and 16, according to a news release from Randolph County Health Department Administrator Angela Oathout.

A news release put out Monday afternoon said the county now has 225 active cases - with six patients hospitalized and 219 recovering at home.

The county's total number of cases since the pandemic began is now 1,827. Of those, 23 people have died and 1,579 patients have recovered and resumed normal activity. The county has had 17,696 negative test results.

For the seven-day period from Nov. 1 to Nov. 7, Randolph County has had a 11.2% positivity rate, lower than Region 4 as a whole, which had a 16.3% positivity rate.

Oathout said the virus is widespread throughout the county with a higher incidence in the 62233 (Chester), 62278 (Red Bud), 62286 (Sparta), and 62288 (Steeleville) ZIP codes.

The Centers for Disease Control offers the following holiday guidelines: Wear a mask, socially distance yourself and keep your social circles small and infrequent. The holidays are quickly approaching and the CDC is advising individuals and families to rethink large holiday gatherings during the pandemic.

Read more at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/holidays.html#holiday-celebrations.

Tier 2 highlights

Randolph County is part of Region 4, which is currently under Tier 2 restrictions because of the large number of cases.

• Restaurants and bars: Must close at 11 p.m. and reopen no earlier than 6 a.m.; no indoor dining or bar service; no ordering, seating, or congregating at bar (bar stools should be removed); no standing or congregating indoors/outdoors while waiting for a table or exiting; no dancing or standing indoors.

• Meetings, social events, gatherings*: Limit to 10 guests in both indoor and outdoor settings (not applicable to students doing in-person classroom learning, sports or polling places); no party buses; gaming and casinos close at 11 p.m., are limited to 25% capacity, and follow mitigations for bars and restaurants.

• Organized group recreational activities: Limit to lesser of 25 guests or 25% of overall room capacity both indoors & outdoors; groups limited to 10 or fewer people; all Sports Guidance effective Aug. 15, 2020, remains in effect; outdoor activities (not included in the above exposure settings) continue per current DCEO guidance.

* Includes weddings and funerals