Active COVID-19 cases in the Tri-County have topped 2,500 for the first time since mid-April, increasing more than five-fold over the last six weeks.
The region’s three public health departments on Monday reported that 61 patients with COVID-19 are at Peoria-area hospitals, and another 2,489 residents are isolating at home. Tazewell County alone accounts for 1,423 home isolations after adding 300 over the weekend.
The area caseload is at its highest since recording 2,658 on April 16, surging from a four-month low of 448 on Nov. 2. Although down slightly from Friday, hospitalizations have nearly doubled in the past two weeks.
Two COVID-19 fatalities over the weekend brought the region’s total since last Monday to nine, and pushing the Tri-County’s death toll since the start of the pandemic to 883. The area's total case count since March 2020 climbed to 61,075 after averaging 272 new infections per day over the past week.
Updated figures from the Illinois Department of Public Health show the Tri-County with 54.15% of residents fully vaccinated, and 58.1% of the population having received at least one dose.
