Coronavirus

New COVID-19 vaccinations in the Tri-County over the past week fell by about 24% from the previous seven-day period, but remained higher than two weeks ago.

Tri-County public health officials on Friday reported 20 patients were admitted to Peoria-area hospitals for COVID-19, the lowest number in almost a full year as Illinois enters Phase 5 of Gov. JB Pritzker’s Restore Illinois plan.

Businesses, festivals and conventions may operate at pre-pandemic numbers soon. The Peoria City/County Health Department confirmed during Thursday's briefing that Peoria will be headed into Phase 5 starting June 11.

By continuing daily stories that report low numbers, we run the risk of turning COVID data into background noise that is easily ignored.

Peoria County has been removed from the Illinois Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 risk warning list, as the Tri-County’s pandemic figures continue to improve.

Tri-County health officials on Wednesday reported no new deaths linked to COVID-19 for a second consecutive day, marking the first time with no fatalities on back-to-back days since a four-day period from April 6-9.

A continued slowing trend for COVID-19 in the Tri-County area produced just 40 new cases and no new deaths in the past day, while hospitalizations in the region dipped back below 50 and active cases moved under 300.

Tri-County health officials on Monday reported 10 new deaths linked to COVID-19 in the region over the weekend, while active cases dropped to the lowest total in 10 months as the region moved past 135,000 fully vaccinated residents.

Peoria County is the last county in the state still on the Illinois Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 warning list, as the Tri-County area adds two more deaths and 43 new cases.

The number of active COVID-19 cases in the Tri-County is down to the lowest since mid-March, with the region close to having 38% of residents fully vaccinated.