Omicron surge puts stress on hospitals
As omicron surges across the state, Gov. J.B. Pritzker warned Monday that hospitalizations are about as high as they were last winter, before vaccines were widely available.
About 85% percent of those hospitalized with COVID-19 across the state are unvaccinated.
"It is frustrating and tragic that two years into the pandemic, with multiple widely available and free, lifesaving vaccines, that we are once again in this horrible position," Pritzker said during a news conference in Chicago.
The Illinois Public Health Department reported 6,294 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Sunday, the most since the pandemic began. Dr. Ngozi Ezike, IDPH director, said an average of 550 people are being admitted to hospitals each day.
Randolph County's transmission rate for COVID-19 remains high, with 181 active cases in the county as of Monday, Jan. 3, according the Centers for Disease Control. In the last seven days, Randolph County has seen four new hospital admissions due to COVID. The county's seven-day positivity rate is 10.33%.
The Randolph County Health Department highly recommends taking additional precautions while in a public setting or a gathering of others, especially for those who are not vaccinated.
With hospital beds for other emergencies "frighteningly limited," Pritzker joined the Illinois Health and Hospital Association in urging health care providers to postpone nonemergency surgeries and procedures as needed to accommodate the influx of COVID-19 cases.
"This surge is testing our health resources yet again," said A.J. Wilhelmi, CEO and president of the IHA.
Though hospitals have become accustomed to managing bed capacity and the needs of COVID-19 patients over the course of the pandemic, Wilhelmi said the best way for people to provide relief for health care workers and facilities is to get vaccinated and boosted.
More than 19 million vaccines have been administered with about 60% of Illinois residents fully vaccinated against COVID-19. In Randolph County, 52.5% of residents age 5 or over are fully vaccinated.
Pritzker fears the rise in COVID-cases will continue to increase as the virus incubates in those who were exposed during the holidays.
He urged individuals to get tested as soon as possible.
Pritzker also announced that starting this week, free community-based testing sites will expand operations to six days a week.
There is a full list of site locations and times on IDPH's website.
Vaccine clinics
The Randolph County Health Department hosts free clinics to administer the first, second and booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Call (618) 826-5007 to make an appointment. Upcoming clinics:
Thursday, Jan. 6, Pfizer, Moderna and J&J - Adult, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 11, Pfizer, Moderna and J&J - Adult, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Isolation, quarantine guidelines
The CDC is shortening the recommended time for isolation for people with COVID-19 from 10 days to five days, if asymptomatic, followed by five days of wearing a mask when around others.
According to the health department, the change is motivated by science demonstrating that the majority of SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs early in the course of illness, generally one to two days prior to onset of symptoms and two to three days after. Therefore, people who test positive should isolate for five days and, if asymptomatic at that time, they may leave isolation if they can continue to mask for five days to minimize the risk of infecting others.
Additionally, the CDC is updating the recommended quarantine period for those exposed to COVID-19.
For people who are unvaccinated or are more than six months out from their second mRNA dose (or more than two months after the J&J vaccine) and not yet boosted, CDC now recommends quarantine for five days followed by strict mask use for an additional five days. Alternatively, if a five-day quarantine is not feasible, it is imperative that an exposed person wear a well-fitting mask at all times when around others for 10 days after exposure.
Individuals who have received their booster shot do not need to quarantine following an exposure but should wear a mask for 10 days after the exposure. For all those exposed, best practice would also include a test for SARS-CoV-2 at Day 5 after exposure. If symptoms occur, individuals should quarantine until a negative test confirms symptoms are not attributable to COVID-19.
Contact tracing
If you or a family member test positive for COVID-19, the health department asks you to remain isolated/quarantined until a contact tracer has an opportunity to reach out to you. Their goal is to reach new cases within 24 hours of notification, which may vary depending on the daily caseload. Do not call the health department; they will try to reach out as soon as possible.
The Illinois Department of Public Health is currently transitioning contact tracing to the IDPH Surge Center. The Randolph County Health Department will begin to relinquish all contact tracing duties over the coming weeks. Until then the Randolph County Health Department will follow the CDC recommendations and impose a five-day isolation and quarantine on cases or households until IDPH transitions to a centralized system.
Herald Tribune staff and Randolph County Health Department contributed to this report.