Late Friday morning the Southern Seven Health Department announced that all seven counties in the southern seven region are now at Orange Warning level regarding Covid-19 risk metrics.
On Friday Alexander County and Hardin County were moved to the Orange Warning level to join Johnson, Massac, Pope, Pulaski and Union Counties.
In Massac County there were 56 new cases of Covid-19 last week. (totals are for S7HD reports for Monday thru Friday of last week). There were three new cases under the age of 10, nine in their teens, twelve in their 20s, six in their 30s, seven in their 40s, nine in their 50s, four in their 60s, four in their 70s and two in their 80s.
“Now all seven of our counties are at an Orange Warning Level for the rapidly spreading virus,” said Nathan Ryder, Outreach Coordinator for Southern Seven’s Contact Tracing Team. “The rising number of cases in each county are contributing to the warning in addition to a low-availability of beds in our regional Intensive Care Units for people who are battling severe illness.”
S7HD has been urging southern Illinoisans to get vaccinated against COVID-19, especially with the rapid spread of the Delta variant impacting neighboring states. The COVID vaccines are proving to be effective in preventing people from becoming severely ill or requiring hospitalization. It’s also recommended to continue following the COVID-19 mitigation procedures we’re all familiar with to help prevent the spread of COVID-19: wear a mask, wash your hands frequently, and keep your distance especially in crowded situations or indoor environments.
The Illinois Department of Public Health announced last month that southern Illinois’ Region 5, where all seven of our counties are located, moved to Phase 5 of the Restore Illinois COVID-19 mitigation plan. This move fully reopened businesses across the state without restrictions. More information on Illinois’ Phase 5 Reopening Plans can be found here:
http://dph.illinois.gov/restore
S7HD continues to work with businesses and many other facets of the community to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19. For the latest information on COVID-19 cases in the region or to find out how to get vaccinated against COVID-19, please visit:
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