The COVID-19 pandemic reached a grim milestone in the Tri-County on Tuesday, with the death toll reported by local health departments topping 1,000.
Tazewell County has logged 10 more fatalities attributed to COVID-19 since Friday, with Peoria County adding two and Woodford County announcing one. That brings the region’s death toll since March 2020 to 1,003, including 70 people since the beginning of January.
The Peoria City/County Health Department reported 1,815 active COVID-19 cases — 1,750 people isolating at home and 65 hospitalized residents — down from 2,610 on Friday. However, Woodford County added just over 1,000 active cases over the weekend, while Tazewell County is no longer reporting hospitalization and home isolation figures.
The three counties combined for 2,253 total new infections since the end of last week, bringing the region’s case count since the start of the pandemic to 82,246. The figures do not include residents who may have taken over-the-counter tests that are not reported to public health agencies.
According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, Peoria County’s rolling seven-day positivity rate was 20.3% on Saturday, after peaking at 28% on Jan. 6. Tazewell County checked in at 19.7% and Woodford at 17.4%.
The latest IDPH vaccination figures show 56.1% of Tri-County residents are fully immunized, and 60.3% of the population has received at least one shot.
