COVID cases drop for second straight week in Knox County after omicron surge

Tom Martin, Galesburg Register-Mail
·4 min read
The new weekly COVID-19 cases dropped 38% this week. That's the second week of declines in new cases after 1,082 cases were reported the week ending Jan. 10.
The new weekly COVID-19 cases dropped 38% this week. That's the second week of declines in new cases after 1,082 cases were reported the week ending Jan. 10.

GALESBURG — New COVID-19 cases in Knox County dropped for a second week, signaling a further decline after cases fueled by the omicron variant peaked at 1,083 cases Jan. 10.

The 529 new weekly COVID-19 cases is a 38% drop from last week. The total cases for Knox County since the pandemic began is 11,602, as reported by the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Four more people died of COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 194 since the pandemic began in March 2020.

The Illinois Department of Public Health reports intensive care availability is still at warning levels at 8.8% as of Jan. 15, the most recent numbers available. The state's target is to have at least 20% ICU availability.

More: Did omicron peak? New COVID cases start descent over weekend in Knox County

Knox County COVID testing available

The Knox County Health Department will offer Curbside COVID-19 Testing this week on Monday, Thursday, and Friday, weather permitting, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; appointments are made same day by calling (309) 344-2225 beginning at 7:15 a.m. Additionally, health care providers in the community are offering testing options as well as local pharmacies.

New daily COVID-19 cases reported through Jan. 20 in Knox County have dropped from the previews two weeks, but still remain above December levels.
New daily COVID-19 cases reported through Jan. 20 in Knox County have dropped from the previews two weeks, but still remain above December levels.

Knox County vaccinations available

COVID-19 vaccines are available (registration links can be found at www.knoxcountyhealth.org:

• Tuesday, Jan. 25, at the Unified Command Vaccine Center 1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. Clinic offers primary series, additional doses, and boosters of Moderna for adults 18 years and up and Pfizer boosters for those 12 years and up. Pfizer primary, pediatric and adolescent series is available to those 5 years of age and up.

• Thursday, Jan. 27, at the Unified Command Vaccine Center 8:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m. Boosters of Moderna for adults 18 years and up and Pfizer boosters for those 12 years and up. Pfizer primary, pediatric and adolescent series is available to those 5 years of age and up.

• Saturday, Jan. 29, Pediatric Clinic at the Unified Command Vaccine Center 9 a.m.-noon. Pfizer primary, pediatric and adolescent series is available to those 5 years of age and up. Pfizer boosters for those 12 years and up.

More: Shooting victims, suspect identified in McKnight Street shooting in Galesburg

COVID-19 cases down in Illinois

Illinois reported far fewer coronavirus cases in the week ending Sunday, adding 183,722 new cases. That's down 11.3% from the previous week's tally of 207,203 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Illinois ranked 27th among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week coronavirus cases in the United States decreased 14.9% from the week before, with 4,770,122 cases reported. With 3.81% of the country's population, Illinois had 3.85% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 27 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

Many counties did not report during data during the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, disrupting the current and previous weeks' statistics. Week-to-week comparisons are skewed and these numbers will be unreliable even as they're accurate to what states reported.

Across Illinois, cases fell in 54 counties, with the best declines in Cook County, with 56,650 cases from 69,479 a week earlier; in DuPage County, with 12,512 cases from 14,715; and in Will County, with 8,075 cases from 9,959.

More: What's causing the local explosion of COVID-19 cases? Q&A with health official Michele Gabriel

Illinois's COVID-19 hospital admissions falling

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, Jan. 23.

Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

Last week: 6,696

The week before that: 7,978

Four weeks ago: 5,620

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

Last week: 188,864

The week before that: 197,883

Four weeks ago: 99,261

Hospitals in 25 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 22 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 30 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.

This article originally appeared on Galesburg Register-Mail: Knox County COVID cases drop; Vaccinations, COVID tests available