The Knox County Health Department officials report that the Illinois Department of Public Health has updated County Level COVID-19 Risk Metrics weekly as part of efforts to increase local residents awareness of the County’s progress throughout Phase 4 of the Governor’s Restore Illinois Plan; http://www.dph.illinois.gov/countymetrics?county=Knox. The measures are updated weekly and are based on Sunday to Saturday of the prior week and are compared to a target value or expected trend.
Individuals, families, and community groups can use these critical data to help inform their choices about personal and family gatherings, as well as other activities they may choose to do. On the website, Illinois counties are either colored blue or orange. Blue indicates that your county is experiencing overall stable COVID-19 measures; however, if your county is orange, it indicates that the measures are indicating that there are warning signs of increased COVID-19 risks in the county.
If you visit the website you will see that Knox County is colored BLUE for data updated on August 7, 2020 for the measures from July 26, 2020 through August 1, 2020; measures include:
· New cases per 100,000 – target is less than 50 per 100,000; Knox County is at 80 per 100,000. This is the only measure that is at a warning level as the County has seen an uptick in total positives.
· Number of New Deaths – target is a decreasing or stable Sunday-Saturday; Knox County remains at 1 death total in the County.
· Test Positivity – target is less than or equal to 8%; Knox County is at a 4.8% positivity rate.
· Tests Performed – target is sufficient testing available when test positivity is less than or equal to 8%; Knox County performed 1,123 tests during the measure week.
· COVID Like Illness (CLI) Emergency Department Visits for Adults – target is for the percentage of CLI visits to be decreasing or stable for Sunday-Saturday; Knox County currently has 1.5% CLI Emergency Department visits
· Number of Hospital Admissions for COVID Like Illness – target is a decreasing or stable Sunday-Saturday; Knox County is currently at less than five
· Cluster of Cases – this is the percent of cases associated with a cluster. There is no target for this measure it is simply used to explain large increases in cases; Knox County is at 0%
· Intensive Care Unit Beds Available – target is for at least 20% of ICU beds to be available; Knox County is currently at 48.4%
“The website is intended to aid individuals in making educated choices about what they choose to do,” states Michele Gabriel, Public Health Administrator for the Knox County Health Department, “the virus is in community spread, so we know that it is potentially out there, it is just a matter of how much of it is present in the community and what choices you want to make for you and your families.” For example, if your county is colored orange on the website, some questions community members may consider would include: Should I still host or attend a large family gathering or community event? Are there additional precautions I should take if a member of my family is more susceptible to COVID-19? Should I wait to dine out or go to a movie?
The Illinois Department of Public Health and the Knox County Health Department remind everyone to wash their hands, wear a face covering, social distance whenever possible, and stay home when you are ill. By taking steps to protect yourself and those around you, you can contribute to the fight to beat COVID-19.
Credible sources for information about COVID-19 include; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention www.cdc.gov and Illinois Department of Public Health www.dph.illinois.gov. The following webpage, http://gis.ci.galesburg.il.us/COVID , is the official source of information on COVID-19 numbers for Knox County. For general questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931, email dph.sick@illinois.gov or call your Knox County Health Department at 309-344-2224.
