CHICAGO - The Illinois Department of Public Health has announced that Madison and St. Clair counties have joined a list of counties in the state on a COVID-19 warning list. It was also announced on Tuesday by Gov. J.B. Pritzker that he is closely monitoring COVID-19 numbers of counties that border Missouri.

In prior months, certain higher positivity rates sparked increased state-mandated mitigations.

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Madison County presently has an 8.9 percent positivity rate and has reported 96 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people in the past week. In early June, the county had a positivity rate under 2 percent, so the increase has been alarming to Gov. Pritzker and the IDPH. Missouri as a state is reporting a 16 percent positivity rate. As of the latest information, New York City has a 59.3 percent full vaccination rate and a 4 percent positivity rate. Chicago reports a 54.9 percent full vaccinated rate and a 4.3 percent positivity rate.

The positivity rate is the percentage of people who test positive for the COVID-19 virus of those overall who have been tested.

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Madison County leads the immediate area with 47 percent of its population fully vaccinated. St. Clair County stands at 45 percent fully vaccinated, followed by Macoupin and Jersey at 44 percent and Calhoun at 35 percent.

Pritzker said: “Missouri is … the worst state in the nation right now and it’s right on our border. "COVID-19 is pouring over, unfortunately, across the border into Metro East.”

Other Southern Illinois counties reported at a warning level include not only Madison, St. Clair, and Monroe counties, but Massac, Jefferson, Franklin, White, and Edwards counties.

Madison County has recorded 35,349 positive COVID-19 cases and 550 COVID-related deaths. St. Clair County has 32,878 positive COVID-19 cases and 542 deaths. Macoupin County has 5,540 positive COVID cases and 93 deaths, Jersey has 3,007 positivity COVID-19 cases and 52 deaths, and Calhoun has 587 positive COVID cases and 2 deaths.

The latest positivity rates around the region are as follows: Macoupin County (6.11 percent), Madison and Jersey County (8.98 percent), St. Clair County (10.22) percent.

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