COVID-19 cases continue to climb
ELDORADO - The number of COVID-19 cases continues to increase in Saline, Gallatin and surrounding counties, according to Thursday afternoon's latest reports from county health departments.
Egyptian Health Department was notified on Thursday of four Southeastern Illinois residents who have tested positive for COVID-19. The individuals include:
<h3 class="breakHead">Saline County</h3>
a male, in his teens, at home and in isolation
a female, in her 30s, at home and in isolation
<h3 class="breakHead">White County</h3>
a female, in her 40s, at home and in isolation
a male, in his 40s, at home and in isolation
To date, Saline County has had a total of 160 lab-confirmed positives, including three deaths; White County has had a total of 115 lab-confirmed positives; and Gallatin County has a total of 63 lab-confirmed positives of COVID-19, including two deaths.
<h3 class="breakHead">Franklin and Williamson counties</h3>
Franklin-Williamson Bi-County Health Department has been notified of 36 new cases of COVID-19 and one death in the Franklin-Williamson county region within the past 24 hours. A male in his 70s from a long-term care facility in Williamson County, whose diagnosis was announced a couple of weeks ago, has passed away of COVID-19 relatedillness.
"We are deeply saddened by this loss. Staff at the health department are working COVID-19 cases each day and our hearts go out to the family and friends who are mourning the loss of their loved one," Director of Emergency Preparedness for Franklin-Williamson Bi-County Health Department Carrie Eldridge said in a statement.
The positive individuals are being isolated. The newly confirmed cases by gender, county and age are as follows:
Franklin county:
Females: Three teenagers, two in their 20s, and one in their 40s.
Males: One in their 20s, one in their 40s, and one in their 60s.
Williamson county:
Females: One infant, one under 10, one teenager, one in her 20s, two in their 30s, two in their 50s, two in their 60s, and one in her 90s.
Males: Three teenagers, one in his 20s, three in their 30s, three in their 40s, two in their 50s, one in his 60s, two in their 70s, and one in his 90s.
To date, there have been a total of 846 laboratory-confirmed positives in Williamson county and 313 laboratory-confirmed positives in Franklin county of COVID-19 including 12 deaths in Williamson county and one death in Franklin county. Of these positive cases, 446 have recovered in Williamson county and 190 have recovered in Franklin county.
<h3 class="breakHead">Jackson County</h3>
Jackson County Health Department was notified Thursday of 12 Jackson County residents confirmed to have contracted COVID-19. The individuals are as follows:
Female - one under 10, one preteen, two teens, one in her 20s, and one in her 30s;
Male - one preteen, one in his 20s, one in his 30s, one in his 60s, and two in their 70s.
They acquired the disease either through contact with known cases or through transmission in the community. They are being placed in isolation.
Eighty active cases are currently being managed. To date, there have been 891 confirmed cases in Jackson County, including 21 related deaths. Eight individuals were released from isolation, in accordance with CDC guidelines, bringing the total released to 790 individuals. All data is preliminary and subject to change.
Health departments note that as cases increase, the number of close contacts increases for individuals who need to be quarantined for a minimum of 14 days. Please maintain physical distancing of six feet or more at all times.