Record 13 New Cases of COVID-19 Reported in Effingham County Friday

Print

Published on July 31 2020 8:53 pm
Last Updated on August 1 2020 5:23 am
Written by Wayne Moran

0731 COVID 3

Effingham County's health department reported a record 13 new cases of COVID-19 Coronavirus Friday, a jump that nearly put the county into a warning level statewide.

Health department administrator Jeff Workman said in a statement that "we could almost see the cases coming", and that "with the number of persons we are notifying of contact with positive cases and the contagious nature of this disease, it's unlikely that our case count will stop growing."

Of the new cases, a female and a male in their teens, two males in their 30s, and a male in his 50s all report having contact with persons testing positive for COVID-19. A male in his teens, a male in his 20s, two females in their 30s, one male in his 40s, one male in his 50s, and a male and female in their 60s reportedly had no known contact with a positive case. All are said to be doing well in isolation.

"We have to follow the precautions, PLEASE", said Workman, pleading with the public to follow safety precautions to help reduce community spread of the virus. Officials continue to urge the public to avoid large crowds and events, frequently wash hands, wear face masks, and practice social distancing.

The spike in cases for Effingham County comes amid a statewide rise in infections. On Friday, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported 1,941 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 21 additional deaths.