Emily Bollinger / WGLT
The McLean County Health Department (MCHD) on Monday reported 133 new confirmed and probable cases, as the rolling testing positivity rate dropped to 5.4% the lowest level since Nov. 1.
Hospitalizations and bed capacity held mostly steady over the weekend. There are 22 people from McLean County hospitalized with COVID-19. That’s one more patient than Friday. About one in five hospital beds are available (21%). That includes more than 30% of intensive care beds.
The active caseload sits at 561, with 539 people isolating at home. An additional 175 people are now considered recovered.
More than 8,000 COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in McLean County, according to health department Administrator Jessica McKnight. That’s up about 500 over the weekend.
A COVID-19 outbreak at Heritage Health in Normal has become the deadliest such event at a long-term care facility in McLean County.
Data from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) indicates the outbreak there has resulted in the deaths of 15 people with 108 becoming ill. Four Heritage Health-Normal residents have died in the last week.
IDPH keeps outbreak listings open if there has been a case at a facility within in the last 28 days, so some of the 108 cases may be older than that.
As of Friday, there were 14 open outbreaks at long-term care facilities in McLean County connected to 57 deaths and 791 cases. In the last week, the state has reported the deaths of 26 residents of long-term care facilities in the county.
Eric Stock / WGLT
The rapid rise in COVID-19 cases in McLean County before Thanksgiving is now tracking through to a rise in deaths among older residents.
The pandemic death toll involving McLean County residents is now 75. That number doesn t reflect the true burden on health facilities and the region. McLean County Coroner Kathy Yoder said the number of dead who pass through her office is significantly higher than the county statistic because non-McLean County residents come to Bloomington-Normal for treatment, and some die. We re at 131 COVID-related deaths, said Yoder.
And nearly a quarter of that total has come recently. In the last two weeks we ve had 31 deaths reported to our office that are COVID-related deaths. That s markedly high. And 60% of the COVID-related deaths in the last two weeks are from long-term care facilities, said Yoder.