EMA: COVID-19 patients in Christian, Montgomery counties moved to out-of-county hospitals

ILLINOIS (WAND) - Officials have had to move COVID-19 patients to hospitals in different courts in Christian and Montgomery counties, the EMA said. 

The daily COVID-19 case report from each county said several cases in Christian County have been placed in available, staffed beds in Danville, Effingham and Alton. In Montgomery County, recent hospitalized cases have gone to Olney and Belleville. 

In this announcement, the EMA stressed local communities can't overwhelm hospitals during the pandemic. 

"It's not just a bed issue for them, it is also a staffing issue," an EMA Facebook post said. "Remember they are getting exposed to COVID too and it takes a toll on them when several staff members (can't) work because of a COVID outbreak."

Christian County officials a weekly positivity rate on Nov. 13 of 26.5%. This number is far above the seven-day rolling positivity rate most recently reported in its Restore Illinois region (Region 3) by the Illinois Department of Public Health (16.4% on Nov. 10). Montgomery County, which is in the same region, reported a weekly positivity rate of 7.6% Friday.

Both Region 3 and Region 6 in central Illinois are under COVID-19 resurgence mitigations, including a restriction to indoor dining, for having rolling positivity rates staying above 8%. Click here to read about those mitigations.