A third peak of COVID-19 could be a possibility in Illinois as cases are trending upward. Warren County Health Department Administrator Jenna Link informs the United Kingdom B.1.1.7 variant is in Warren County and with the increase in cases; the Peoria Region, which Warren County is a part of, is right there at warning level:
“We have seen the new strain; the B.1.1.7 is in Warren County. What they are saying with that is it is much more contagious, so it is easier to spread. Our ICU availability right now is at 18% for the Peoria Region. If you look at our new cases, if you look at our ICU availability rate, I mean, we are right there at warning level. As a region, the state has kind of starting talking about if they need to move us back as far as metrics go in mitigation. Those talks are taking place. There are things we need to do to slow that down in that they are looking at doing that.”
Link said currently Warren County is in warning for metrics with new cases and ICU availability. So far no changes have been made to the current phase or mitigations. The county is almost at 25% of the population fully vaccinated. There will be a Moderna vaccine clinic tomorrow (Wednesday) morning and a Pfizer vaccine clinic in the afternoon and still have lots of appointments available.Call the health department to make an appointment.
