A week after the first Heartland Health Services COVID-19 testing site opened, nearly half of all new cases diagnosed in Peoria County are stemming from swabs collected at the new community clinics.
The first site opened last Tuesday in the old Kroger parking lot in the East Bluff neighborhood. A second site at the health department opened Saturday, and a third by the Carver Center opened yesterday.
The county reported 44 confirmed cases last Tuesday. A week later, that total spiked to 79. Forty-five percent, or 16, of the new cases were among the hundreds of people who visited those drive-up and walk-up testing sites.
"As we increase community-based testing, we're getting a better understanding of what that virus is in our communities," said Peoria City/County Health Department Administrator Monica Hendrickson.
The East Bluff and Carver sites used 156 tests as of 2:45 p.m. Tuesday. Each site is allotted 150 tests per day by the state. The Sheridan site at the health department is only open on weekends.
The sites were introduced in Peoria and elsewhere through the state at the urging of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, which was concerned about the disproportionate amount of COVID-19 deaths among the state's African American population and a relative lack of accessiblity to testing. Pastor Marvin Hightower, president of the Peoria NAACP, and others said a Bloomington-based testing site funded by the federal government was too far for many facing transportation issues.
The sites now allow for at-risk workers like grocery store clerks, childcare workers, and factory workers to qualify for testing. People experiencing the COVID-19 symptoms like loss of taste or smell, headaches, or shaking with chills newly announced by the Centers for Disease Control also qualify.
The three Peoria testing sites based at federally-funded healthcare clinics are mainly attracting residents from Peoria County and nearby communities like Pekin, Washington, and Metamora. But Hendrickson said people from as far away as Kewanee and LaSalle are also driving to Peoria for COVID-19 testing.
In Peoria County, positive cases are 59 percent female, 41 percent male. People between ages 30 and 39 are the most prevalent in Peoria County. Fifty-six percent are white, and 39 percent are black. Forty-eight percent are considered recovered, and 29 percent are recovering at home. Another 20 percent are currently hospitalized.
Thirty-five percent of local cases stem from a congregate living facility, such as a group home or long-term care facility.
Tazewell County is reporting 38 positive COVID-19 cases. Woodford County reports 12.
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