Two counties neighboring Morgan County have reached warning level status for COVID-19.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 11 counties in Illinois are considered to be at a warning level including Cass and Sangamon Counties.
According to the IDPH, a county enters a warning level when it experiences an increase in two or more COVID-19 risk indicators from the state’s COVID-19 Resurgence Mitigation plan.
Cass and Sangamon are the only counties in central Illinois on the warning list, while Jo Daviess County is the only county in warning status in all of northern Illinois.
The remaining eight counties on the IDPH list are in southern Illinois, and include Gallatin, Jackson, Johnson, Perry, Randolph, Saline, St. Clair, and White.
IDPH Officials says these 11 counties saw outbreaks associated with business operations and activities posing higher risk for disease spread, including school graduation ceremonies, a rise in cases among late teens and 20s, parties and social gatherings, people going to bars, long-term care outbreaks, clusters of cases associated with restaurants and churches, and big sports events including soccer, golf, and softball tournaments.
Residents of many communities are not wearing face coverings that have been proven to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Public health officials are finding that most contacts to cases are testing positive as well.
A map and information of each county’s status can be found on the IDPH website at https://www.dph.illinois.gov/countymetrics.