CENTRAL ILLINOIS (WCIA) — With COVID-19 cases once again on the rise, the CDC has upgraded a number of Illinois counties’ community risk levels from low to medium in its latest map of the country.
The CDC looks at the combination of three metrics to determine COVID-19 community level for each county:
- New COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 population in the past seven days
- The percent of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients
- Total new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population in the past seven days
Using this data, the CDC classifies a county’s community level as being low, medium or high.
23 of Illinois’ 102 counties were upgraded to a medium transmission level; most of these counties are in the northern part of the state. Eight counties in central Illinois – Champaign, Ford, McLean, DeWitt, Logan, Sangamon, Mason and Peoria Counties- are among the 23. To the south, Johnson County is the lone southern county listed in the medium risk level.
People living in medium risk counties are advised to stay up to date on COVID-19 vaccination and get tested if they experience symptoms or are exposed to someone who tests positive. People at high risk for severe illness are further advised to consider wearing a mask indoors and take other precautions.
