The Tri-County area’s latest COVID-19 wave resulted in 10 more deaths tied to the pandemic over the weekend, as the hospitalizations and case counts continued to trend in the wrong direction.
Public health officials on Monday reported 608 new infections since Friday, pushing the region’s count since the start of the pandemic to 40,056. Peoria-area hospitals have 162 patients with COVID-19, up from 124 at the end of last week.
The number of patients in intensive care units climbed to 46, while 2,491 infected individuals are isolating at home – an increase of 310 over the weekend. As of Friday, the rolling seven-day test positivity was 12.8% in Peoria County and 11.3% in Tazewell.
The 10 latest victims include four Peoria County residents and six from Tazewell County. The Peoria County victims included one man in his 20s, one in his 50s, one in his 60s; information on the fourth victim was not available. The Tazewell County deaths were one woman in her 60s, and five men all above 60 – including two residents of Pekin Manor and one from Villas of Hollybrook in Pekin.
Pekin-based Reditus Labs reported finding four COVID-19 variants in March test results coming in samples from around central Illinois, including 16 samples with the Brazil variant.
Reditus said the samples with the Brazil variant came from people in Peoria, Pekin, Morton, and Bloomington, and that the variant is believed to be the most concerning due to resistance of vaccines and increased levels of transmissibility than the original strain.
Meanwhile, the Tri-County is up to just under 25% of residents being fully vaccinated for COVID-19.
According to Illinois Department of Public Health figures, Peoria, Tazewell, and Woodford counties collectively added 7,135 shots in arms over the weekend and 4,708 more fully dosed individuals.
Those figures brought the region's totals to 206,871 total injections and 87,813 people who are fully vaccinated. Over the past week, the area’s daily average for doses administered stands at 2,936.
The Peoria City/County Health Department is offering COVID-19 vaccines for the general public at the former Heddington Oaks nursing home in West Peoria this week.
First doses of the Moderna vaccine are available for all people ages 18 or older; second dose appointments will be provided when signing up for the first dose this week. Individuals can schedule an appointment by visiting the health department's website.
Additionally, Woodford County and the Illinois National Guard will have more Johnson & Johnson 19 vaccine doses to administer this Friday.
The clinic will be hosted at Case New Holland in Goodfield from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. The single-dose vaccines are available for people living or working in Peoria, Tazewell, or Woodford counties. Registration is available at the Woodford County Health Department's website.
Statewide, more than 7.24 million COVID-19 vaccines have been injected and close to 2.9 million Illinoisans are fully vaccinated, or 22.7% of the population. As of Monday, all residents age 16 and older are eligible to receive the vaccine.
The IDPH on Monday reported 2,433 new COVID-19 cases and 18 additional fatalities. Since the start of the pandemic last March, Illinois has recorded 1.27 million infections and 21,476 deaths.
Tim Shelley contributed to this report.
COVID-19 in Tri-County
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