Region 8 Positivity Rate Still 5.5% Despite Jumps In Past Month
KANE COUNTY, IL — Region 8, made up of Kane and DuPage counties, saw its coronavirus testing positivity rate climb above 6 percent several times over the past 30 days, but the overall rate remains the same as it did Aug. 20, according to public health data.
Region 8, also called the West Suburban region, had a positivity rate of 5.5 percent, as of Friday.
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That’s down from an all-time high of 6.2 percent recorded Aug. 31, but it remains higher than at any point between June 26 — when officials started tracking the measure — and Aug. 20, according to statistics from the Illinois Department of Public Health.
The IDPH imposed new coronavirus-related restrictions in Region 4 (Metro East) and 7 (Will and Kankakee counties) after those regions recorded positivity rates of more than 8 percent for three consecutive days.
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Officials removed the restrictions in Region 7 last week after its positivity rate dropped below 6.5 percent for three days. The additional coronavirus-related restrictions, including a ban on indoor service at restaurants and bars, had been in place for more than three weeks.
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Public health officials are also prepared to implement new restrictions if a region reports daily positivity-rate increases seven times within 10 days, along with an increase in hospital admissions due to coronavirus-related symptoms or a drop in capacity in intensive care units.
Region 8 has recorded positivity-rate and hospital-admission increases three times in the past 10 days.
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Forty percent of Region 8's ICU units and 30 percent of medical/surgical beds are currently available, well above the state's 20 percent threshold for new restrictions.
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This article originally appeared on the Aurora Patch
