Illinois Department of Public Health

A $6 million grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development will be used to continue the health department's Lead Safe Program that provides inspections and lead removal for Peoria homes built prior to 1978, when the federal ban on lead paint went into effect.

Updated figures on the Illinois Department of Public Health website show Peoria, Tazewell and Woodford counties with 20 deaths credited to the pandemic since Oct. 13.

Statistics from the Illinois Department of Public Health show the Tri-County adding 3,494 new COVID-19 cases in the last month, along with 13 fatalities.

The Peoria City/County Health Department on Monday reported 257 active cases, including eight hospitalized residents.

Active COVID-19 cases in Peoria County have fallen to the lowest total since just before Thanksgiving, down from a variant-driven surge that peaked a little over a month ago.

Peoria County announced four COVID-related fatalities on Tuesday, a day after reporting three deaths over the weekend. Tazewell County also reported three deaths between Friday and Monday.

Following the region’s second-deadliest month of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tri-County public health officials on Friday reported 13 additional fatalities attributed to the disease since Monday.

Tri-County health officials reported eight new COVID-related fatalities since Friday, pushing January's death total to 132 and exceeding every month over the past two years except December 2020

Figures provided by the Peoria City/County, Tazewell County, and Woodford County health departments indicate a total of 7,992 area residents are now isolating at home with coronavirus infections.

Regional Superintendent of Schools Beth Crider said school districts are going to adhere to the latest guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reducing the number of days in isolation from 10 to five.