Macon County Moves to High COVID-19 Community Level

May 27, 2022

Due to the recent uptick in cases, the CDC updated Macon County's COVID-19 Community Level from low to medium. Weekly metrics used to determine the COVID-19 Community Level include the following: case rate per 100,000 population, new COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 population, and percent staffed inpatient beds in use by patients with confirmed COVID-19.

Based on our current community level, it is recommended that individuals should:

• Stay up-to-date with their COVID-19 vaccines, including booster doses.
• Get tested if you have symptoms.
• Wear a mask if you have symptoms, have a positive COVID-19 test, or have been exposed to someone with COVID-19.
• Wear a mask on public transportation.
• Consider wearing a mask indoors in public and take additional precautionary measures if you are at a high risk for severe illness.

Some community-level prevention strategies include:

• Protect people at high risk for severe illness or death by ensuring equitable access to vaccination, testing, treatment, support services, and information.
• Consider implementing screening testing or other testing strategies for people who are exposed to COVID-19 in workplaces, schools, or other community settings as appropriate.
• Implement enhanced prevention measures in high-risk congregate settings.
• Distribute and administer vaccines to achieve high community vaccination coverage and ensure health equity.
• Maintain improved ventilation in public indoor spaces.

A person may choose to wear a mask at any time as an additional precaution to protect themselves and others.

To learn more about additional individual-, household-, and community-level prevention behaviors and strategies that can be taken to help curb the spread, please visit https://dph.illinois.gov/covid19/data/community-level.html and/or https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view?list_select_state=Illinois&null=17125&list_select_county=17115.

###