Carbondale Chamber of Commerce recently issued the following announcement.
Jackson County Health Department was notified in the past 24 hours of 21 Jackson County residents confirmed to have contracted COVID-19. The individuals are as follows:
• Female – three teens, and two in their twenties; • Male – two teens, eleven in their twenties, two in their thirties, and one in his fifties.
They acquired the disease either through contact with known cases or through transmission in the community (i.e., unable to trace back to a known source). They are being placed in isolation. 143 active cases are currently being managed. To date, there have been 1,142 confirmed cases in the county, including 24 related deaths. Twenty-two individuals were released from isolation, in accordance with CDC guidelines, bringing the total released to 975 individuals.
Also, today Jackson County returned to the COVID-19 warning list published by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). The list is updated every Friday, based upon data from the prior Sunday- Saturday. IDPH established county-level metrics to promote local level awareness and to help the public make informed decisions about activities they undertake.
Jackson County exceeded the thresholds established on the following metrics:
• New cases per 100,000 people. If there are 50 or more new cases per 100,000 people in the county, this triggers a warning. Jackson County was at 254 new cases per 100,000 population last week.
• Weekly test positivity. This metric indicates a warning when the 7-day test positivity rate rises above 8%. Jackson County was at 9.6% test positivity last week.
Jackson County had previously been on the warning list for two consecutive weeks in late July and early August. A map and information of each county’s status can be found on the IDPH website at https://www.dph.illinois.gov/countymetrics.
According to Bart Hagston, Health Department Administrator, “This warning helps to amplify the continued need to practice social distancing, wear face coverings, stay home when you are ill, and to cooperate with public health officials when they contact you during contact tracing efforts.” In addition, everyone should stay home while awaiting test results, and not place others at risk. Test result turnaround times have decreased, making the wait time at home for results much shorter.
If you have a fever, cough, difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle aches, loss of taste or smell, nausea, diarrhea, or other symptoms, call your health care provider for further guidance. Two providers are conducting COVID-19 testing of eligible individuals in Jackson County: Call either Southern Illinois Healthcare (SIH) at 1-844-988-7800; or Shawnee Health Service at 618-519-9200.
Original source can be found here.
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