KANKAKEE – Region 7 is once again headed in the wrong direction.
In the last 48 hours, the Region has jumped 1.5%. It’s the largest seven-day jump ever in a two-day stretch since reporting began in the region. The last time the Region came close to such a dramatic seven-day positivity jump in two days was between August 15th and August 17th when the Region saw a 0.8% increase.
On Sunday, the region’s seven-day positivity rating was 8.2%, marking the 8th straight day in positivity increases. The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) reported the seven-day positivity rating for the area had increased nearly a full percentage point (0.9%) in just the last 24 hours, marking the largest single-day increase in the last month for the region.
Further mitigations could be placed on Region 7 by Illinois officials if the Region stays above 8.0% for more than three days. Region 7 has already seen these mitigations put in place, which includes further mitigations placed on bars and restaurants back in late August through mid-September.
On Saturday, IDPH reported 15 residents were hospitalized in Region 7. The data comes from delayed information reported on October 13th. Friday afternoon, the Kankakee County Health Department reported 18 residents hospitalized in the county COVID-19 related.
From Sept 10th to Sept 16th, the Will County Health Department reported a total of 1,028 new confirmed cases, averaging 147 new cases a day in the County. During that same span, Kankakee County Health Department officials reported 154 newly confirmed cases, averaging 22 newly confirmed cases each day.
As of Friday, Region 7 was closing in on 20,000 total COVID-19 cases reported. The Region reported 19,296 COVID-19 confirmed cases since the pandemic began in March on Friday. Will County had recorded a total of 16,181 confirmed cases Friday with Kankakee climbing to 3,115 cases to date.
