Five COVID Deaths Reported in Greene; Illinois Now Over 12,000

By Jeremy Coumbes on November 28, 2020 at 8:54am

COVID-19 is continuing to take a toll on long-term care facilities in West Central Illinois.

The Greene County Health Department announced late Friday five residents of a long term care facility have died since Thursday due to COVID-19. Greene County has now had a total of 34 residents whose deaths have been attributed to the virus.

Greene County Health officials also confirmed an additional 15 new cases of COVID-19 between Thursday and Friday. There are now a total of 108 active cases in Greene County.

The Brown County Health Department reported 17 new cases since Wednesday, bringing the total of active cases in Brown to 102. All current cases are isolating at home. Brown County has had 3 COVID-19 related deaths to date.

All other county health departments in the WLDS/WEAI listening area will not be publicly reporting updated COVID-19 case numbers until Monday following the extended Thanksgiving holiday.

Statewide, Illinois has risen above 12,000 deaths from COVID-19, while also surpassing the 700,000 mark for confirmed coronavirus infections.

The latest 1,000 deaths were recorded in just nine days- matching the state’s deadliest period previously during the pandemic in late April and early May, according to an Associated Press review.

After a relatively quiet summer, the virus aggressively returned in October, with the number of confirmed cases jumping from 500,000 to 700,000 in just the past 17 days.

On Friday, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported 7,574 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 including an additional 86 deaths.

Currently, IDPH is reporting over 705,000 cases including now 12,029 deaths.

Over 10 million tests have been administered in the state since the start of the pandemic. As of Thursday night, 5,829 Illinoisans were reported to be in the hospital due to COVID-19. Of those, 1,215 were in the ICU and just under 700 patients were on ventilators.

The preliminary seven day statewide positivity rate now sits at 10.1%