TAYLORVILLE, Ill. (WAND) – A Central Illinois county is among the worst in the state for it’s COVID-19 positivity rate, and it is believed that it will only get worse.
"Christian County is having a moment where the cases are rising and it is all throughout the county. It is not just a designated area,” Greg Nimmo, the director of the Christian Montgomery Counties Emergency Management Agency, said.
As of Tuesday, the county’s positivity rate was 15.9%, the second highest in the state behind Crawford County. The county also announced a new COVID-19 death and seven new cases. The state put the county in warning status because of those reasons, and the number of cases per 100,000 people.
"We have had a steady incline on the Christian County side," Nimmo said. "We have some pretty heavy numbers, two-digit numbers mostly over the last week so our numbers have increased even more."
The increase in cases are spread out across the county, which includes the city of Taylorville. While there is no major new outbreak, Nimmo said he believes there is a reason behind the high positivity rate.
"We have some seen some events of large events and those are private events such as weddings, and people just need to be cautious,” he said. “The limit right now is set at 50.”
Nimmo said in a number of those cases, there has been video evidence. Officials have been trying to educate owners and the community about the COVID-19 risk. Several warnings have been issued to violators, and continued increases could set the region back, which Nimmo said could hurt businesses.
"They're hurting,” he said. “They don't have the business they did before, so we want to keep their doors open. We don't want the state to put us in a backwards mode or that creates more of an issue."
Nimmo said to turn things around people “need to wear a mask, wash your hands and social distance.
