PEORIA, Ill. — Five new cases of COVID-19 were reported Saturday in the tri-county area, bringing the total to 233.
Three of the new cases were reported in Peoria County, giving the county 156.
The other two cases were in Tazewell, whose total rose to 62.
Woodford remained at 15.
The region’s recovery rate since the start of the pandemic was unchanged, staying at 75%.
17% of cases were in home isolation, and 4% were hospitalized.
The biggest change from Friday to Saturday was the number of ICU beds in use for COVID.
Seven potential cases and six confirmed cases were occupying area ICU beds. On Friday, those numbers were three and 10, respectively.
Local leaders said they were still waiting for feedback from Gov. J.B. Pritzker on the Restore Heart of Illinois plan, but Peoria City Manager Patrick Urich explained why they want that input.
“The important point we’re trying to do is make sure we’re implementing this responsibly, taking the time to look at all the different aspects of the business community we’ve identified in the plan, and making sure we’re building out those protocols to progress responsibly through that,” he said.
“We feel there’s a lot of overlap between both [the local plan and Pritzker’s Restore Illinois plan].”
He said those protocols include capacity limits, safe distance requirements, and making sure businesses know when to and not to use face coverings.
“The key difference between the two plans is the liquor license,” said City/County Health Administrator Monica Hendrickson.
“One thing we’ve always addressed with the Heart of Illinois plan is, we are more than willing and wanting to be flexible with our plan. We have to recognize Peoria County is a very large county, so this plan is going to look operationally different in our different communities.
“So, this is not something we’re going to be able to turn on overnight, and that’s why that feedback is key.”
