Morgan County is now off the COVID warning list, however, four new counties have joined Adams at an increased warning level for the virus.
25 counties in Illinois are currently under COVID warnings because of new cases. Morgan and Cass County have fallen off of the warning list from last week, however Brown, Pike, Greene, and Macoupin Counties are now under COVID warning levels.
Director of Health Education for the Cass County Health Department, Andrew English says the Cass County Health Department has reported 12 new Covid cases over the past week with 10 active cases. There are no cases currently hospitalized.
English says As of July 23, 44.10% (5,407) of Cass County’s residents have been fully vaccinated. To date, CCHD has provided 10,274 vaccines to Cass County residents and others who are employed in the County and surrounding area. He says since the start of May, 93.64% of all positive cases in Cass County were in unvaccinated individuals.
Greene County Health Department Administrator Molly Peters announced Friday there are currently 37 active cases in Greene County. She says close to 30% of the community is fully vaccinated and 11% of the Greene County population has had a known positive test since the start of the pandemic.
Peters says participation in vaccination will greatly impact herd immunity and the speed at which this occurs.
The Cass County Health Department (CCHD) also announced yesterday, their officials strongly recommend school districts begin the 2021-2022 school year with layered COVID-19 prevention strategies in place that are outlined in the updated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance for K-12 schools, which were fully adopted by the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Currently, individuals under the age of 12 years are not eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Cass County Health Officials say, therefore, this group of students will not be fully vaccinated when they return to in-person school this fall.
They urge that the use of masks in schools by individuals who are unvaccinated will reduce school-based and community transmission of COVID-19, reduce the need for quarantine of students who are close contacts in school, and therefore keep more students learning in-person.
Morgan County releases its weekly joint COVID update on Monday afternoon.