Peoria-area officials warn the region is veering into dangerous waters on its COVID-19 mitigation efforts.
Peoria City/County Health Department Administrator Monica Hendrickson said while positivity rates and hospitalizations remain relatively low overall, both statistics increased in four of the last 10 days. A seven-day stretch of increases in either statistic could lead to renewed restrictions to control the virus.
Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis said that's not a possibility anyone wants to explore.
"We're way too close to being in a position where we might have to go backwards. I don't think I really have to do a deep dive to help everyone understand how much we do not want to go backwards right now," said Ardis.
The increases may be linked to more laxity in basic mitigation measures as more venues reopen under Phase 4 of Gov. JB Pritzker's "Restore Illinois" plan, officials suggested Thursday.
"We're not doing so good. We're slipping. We're forgetting the most basic, common things. Masks and social distancing, and of course, competent, aggressive handwashing," said Peoria County Board Chairman Andrew Rand.
Ardis said while the police department doesn't have the resources to aggressively monitor businesses for compliance with capacity limits, mask requirements, and other measures, he said the city will step up its "spot checks" in an effort to beef up enforcement.
On Wednesday, Pritzker announced he was breaking down the four large health regions by which reopening phases are implemented into 11, smaller regions to allow for a more localized response.
The new North-Central region includes the Tri-County of Peoria, Tazewell, and Woodford, as well as a broader region of central, western, and north-Central Illinois that includes Fulton, Knox, Warren, Henry, Stark, Marshall, McLean, Livingston, Bureau, Putnam, LaSalle, Grundy, Rock Island, McDonough, Mercer, Henderson, and Kendall counties.
A seven-day increase in hospitalizations or positivity rates, or a three-day positivity rate of above 8% can lead to more restrictions. Hendrickson said the new region currently has a positivity rate of 3.8%.
Hendrickson said though both OSF St. Francis Medical Center and UnityPoint Health's Methodist, Proctor, and Pekin hospitals currently have more than enough capacity to handle more COVID-19 patients, hospitalization rates remain a primary point of concern for health officials worried about sudden surges in new cases, as is being seen in other states.
"We have to recognize that both UnityPoint Health and OSF St. Francis Medical Center are very much within Illinois as a whole a very prominent health care system. That individuals travel across different regions and across the state to get treatment there," she said.
Dr. Praveen Sudhindra, an infectious disease specialist for UnityPoint Health, said recent increased community transmission of the coronavirus is triggering a "dramatic" spike in inpatient counts.
"We had been averaging about two or three patients on the service daily for several weeks, but in a matter of 48 hours, that went up to 10. One of whom is critically ill," Sudhindra said.
He said UnityPoint Health is achieving some positive results by using various combinations of convalescent plasma, remdesivir, and steroids as treatments.
If the health region including the Peoria area falters on one of the measures of COVID-19 mitigation success, Hendrickson said it wouldn't necessarily mean a full return to Phase 3, which ended statewide on June 26.
"There's actually tiers within the plan that are options for local entities based on what they're seeing," she said. "Whether their outbreaks are related to bars and restaurants, or outdoor sports, or other activities that can really position you to move into those that are appropriate so you can stem it."
Ardis asked the public to heed the warnings issued by officials Thursday at the first COVID-19 press briefing convened in six weeks to avoid those potential new restrictions.
"This isn't just a stunt. We are dangerously close to having to take a step back. And the community does not need that," said Ardis. "The business community cannot handle that."
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