BLOOMINGTON (WEEK) – Two more people have died from illnesses linked to the COVID-19 virus, while other data released Wednesday showed that children 11 years old or younger made up a quarter of all new cases the past seven days in McLean County.
The county’s COVID death toll since the start of the pandemic rose to 255 on Wednesday after the local health department said a woman in her 50s and a man in his 60s had died. Neither person lived in long-term care facilities, the health department said.
For the seven day period that started Wednesday, September 15, the health department reported 394 new infections, with 97, or about 25% of them children 11 or younger.
The health department released the following age breakdown::
0-11 = 97
12-17 = 36
18-19 = 10
20s = 66
30s = 49
40s = 45
50s = 40
60s = 36
70s = 10
80s = 5
90s = 0
100s = 0
Total = 394
The health department said there were 65 new cases since Tuesday, bringing the total of confirmed and probable cases since the start of the pandemic to 21,744. The health department said 20,979 people have been released from isolation and are considered recovered.
On Wednesday, the health department said 480 people were isolating at home. Thirty McLean County residents were said to be hospitalized with COVID-19.
McLean County’s two hospitals, Carle BroMenn Medical Center and OSF St. Joseph Medical Center were reported to be near capacity on Wednesday treating patients with COVID and other conditions.
The health department reported 88% of all beds in intensive care units were filled, and 92% of all hospital beds were in use.
The county’s rolling test positivity rate was 3.6% for the weekly period ending on Tuesday, the health department said.
Officials also reported 53.64% of the county’s population was fully vaccinated on Wednesday, compared to 54.67% statewide.
The health department provided an age breakdown of county residents who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.:
Age 12-17 = 55.39%
Age 18-64 = 57.75%
Age 65+ = 89.68%
The health department is offering two more vaccine clinics at Grossinger Motors Arena in downtown Bloomington; Thursday, September 23 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Thursday September 30, also from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Walk-ins are welcome, but pre-registration is strongly recommended for people wishing a specific type of vaccine to ensure its availability.
Pre-registration can be done online at https://health.mcleancountyil.gov/790/COVID-19-Vaccine, or by contacting the health department’s COVID-19 call center weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 309-888-5600.
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