Effingham County Sees New Daily Record of COVID-19 Cases, Illinois Passes 10,000 Deaths

Thursday brought sobering new COVID-19 statistics both locally and statewide.

Effingham County's health department reported 75 new cases of the virus, a new daily record for the county, while the Shelby County Health Department announced 13 county residents have tested positive for Covid-19. Coles county reported 52 new cases and reported 1 death. The Fayette County Health Department reported 29 new confirmed cases. The Marion County Health Department is reporting another 17 positive COVID-19 cases on Thursday.  The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) Thursday reported 9,935 new cases statewide, with 97 additional deaths.

Effingham county's metrics from Thursday's new cases. The health department was unable to provide detailed numbers for the area due to the overwhelming amount of contract tracing they're performing

Including Thursday's total, there have been 10,030 COVID-19 related deaths reported in Illinois since the beginning of the pandemic.

With more than 9 days of positivity increases, the health department is using stern language in their efforts to help mitigate the spread of the virus, saying in their release that "if the community wants to see this number decrease, it needs to think about its activities and practices. Only if the community comes together and acts for the benefit of everyone will case numbers begin to drop. Wear a mask, wash up, and spread out."