Half of the Peoria County residents who have tested positive for COVID-19 are now considered recovered by the health department.
Peoria City/County Health Department administrator Monica Hendrickson said current guidance considers someone recovered if they go at least 7 days in isolation and 72 hours without a fever.
"For those individuals that have recovered from this, you're no longer required to be in self-isolation," she said. "And actually, for Peoria County residents that are considered recovered, they will receive a notice from the health department at this time, stating that they are no longer required to be in self-isolation."
The health department released the statistic for the first time Wednesday. Currently, eight of 16 Peoria County COVID-19 patients are considered "recovered."
The health department may also encourage some of those recovered patients to donate plasma, in hopes of transferring antibodies to patients currently struggling with the virus.
Second person dies at East Peoria assisted living facility
A Tazewell County woman in her 80s is the area's third COVID-19 related death.
The woman is the second resident of the Generations at Riverview assisting living facility in East Peoria to die after contracting the virus.
Hendrickson said the facility is working closely with local health officials to trace contacts.
"Our long-term care facilities are in these highly volatile situations where they're working with a vulnerable population in very confined spaces," she said. "And so they are really working and doing their best to make sure that they are able to address the issues as they come up."
Hendrickson said those workers are also disinfecting regularly, wearing personal protective equipment, and doing status checks on other residents. Status updates weren't immediately available for other Generations at Riverview who tested positive or were suspected cases. Officials say all of those residents are now hospitalized.
Peoria County's one confirmed COVID-19 death also lived in an assisted care facility, Bickford of Peoria.
There are 39 cases total confirmed in the Tri-County area as of Wednesday.
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