Rolling positivity rate above 10%; 467 new COVID cases in McLean County

Posted on November 30, 2020
Health officials say if you travelled over the holiday or think you might have been exposed at a gathering consider getting tested. (Graphic courtesy McLean County Health Department)

 

By Neil Doyle

BLOOMINGTON – McLean County health officials Monday reported 467 new cases of coronavirus from over the weekend.

There are 22 McLean County residents currently hospitalized and 1,465 are in home isolation. MCHD Administrator Jessica McKnight said local hospitals are reporting 85% of ICU beds in use and 86% of total beds in use.

“We are seeing a surge of the coronavirus across the entire country,” said McKnight. “It is recommended that anyone who travelled to another part of the country or got together with people outside of their household assess their risk for contracting COVID-19 and consider self-quarantining to help mitigate the spread of the virus as we enter the holiday season.”

The county’s rolling positivity rate went up from 8.3% Friday to 10.5%. 374 additional were released from isolation, now 7,043 have recovered. There have been 50 COVID-related deaths in the county.

Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…