By Neil Doyle
BLOOMINGTON – The McLean County Health Department on Tuesday announced 17 new cases of coronavirus and more testing that will start this week in rural parts of the county.
Of the 402 confirmed cases, two people are currently hospitalized and 73 are in home isolation, according to local health officials. There are 312 individuals that have been released from isolation and are considered recovered. There have been 15 COVID-19 related deaths.
More than 19,200 tests in McLean County have been resulted for a cumulative positivity rate of 2.1%. The rolling seven-day positivity rate is 2.3%.
Meanwhile, the health department is partnering with Chestnut Health Systems to increase access to COVID testing in our county, according to MCHD Administrator Jessica McKnight. Testing sites will be set-up in different rural communities each week starting July 23 in Colfax.
Drive-through and walk-up testing will be available between 9:00 a.m. and noon in the parking lot of the Colfax Village office at 307 N. Harrison Street unless there is inclement weather. The sites will be using the self-administered nasal swab tests, with each person self-swabbing as instructed and monitored by an on-site staff member. Staff cannot assist with the self-swabbing process.
“Testing helps to identify those infected with COVID-19 and allow public health partners to quickly notify and quarantine close contacts and prevent further spread of the virus,” said McKnight. “Testing is just one piece of the toolkit to address COVID.”
Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]
