MCHD reports 34 new COVID cases; Positivity rate back above 4%

There are 14 McLean County residents currently hospitalized and 285 are in home isolation. (Facebook/Reditus Laboratories)

 

By Neil Doyle

BLOOMINGTON – McLean County’s rolling positivity rate jumped a whole percentage point to 4.4% as local health officials Thursday reported 34 new cases of COVID-19.

Graphic courtesy McLean County Health Department

There are 14 people currently hospitalized and 285 are in home isolation. 25 additional people were released from isolation, now 3,647 have recovered from the virus.

There have been 31 COVID-related deaths in the county.

Meanwhile, the state is putting together a plan to distribute a coronavirus vaccine once one becomes available. Gov. JB Pritzker says there are still several questions such as how many doses will the vaccine entail and how will it be stored.

State public health officials say the COVID vaccine will not be required but highly recommended. in the beginning, priority will be given to those most vulnerable including health care workers, first responders and staff and residents of long-term care facilities like nursing homes.

Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]

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