The Illinois Department of Public Health has announced that COVID-19 resurgence mitigations were implemented in Region 3 West Central Illinois which includes Macoupin County on Sunday, November 1, 2020. The region has seen a seven-day rolling average test positivity rate of 8 percent or above for three consecutive days, which exceeds the thresholds set for establishing mitigation measures under the state’s Restore Illinois Resurgence Plan.
The county’s current test positivity rate has dropped to 5.9 percent but the region’s rate currently stands at 10.6 percent at the time of publication. Macoupin County is grouped with Hancock, Adams, Schuyler, Brown, Pike, Calhoun, Jersey, Greene, Scott, Morgan, Cass, Mason, Menard, Sangamon, Montgomery, Christian, and Logan counties.
According to county public health officials, confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Macoupin County have doubled during the past two months with over 280 confirmed cases in October and approximately 200 cases in September. It is unclear how many cases had to be hospitalized however the county has had 8 deaths since the beginning of June.
Although individual counties in Region 3 have been experiencing warning status, this is the first time that Region 3 has implemented mitigation plans designed to help curtail the resurgence of COVID-19. The resurgence guidance will be in effect for a 14-day period and then reevaluated. If the positivity rate continues to increase, additional restrictions may be necessary.
Health officials urge citizes to continue to be vigilant with hand washing, wearing masks, social distancing, sanitize high touch/frequent touch surfaces often, and keep gatherings to 25 people or less.
The RT-PCR molecular test is the “gold star” COVID-19 testing and is available Monday through Thursday at the Maple Street Drive-thru site at 109 E. Maple Street in Gillespie. Persons will remain in their car throughout the process. Pre-registration is required. When calling the registration line at 217-313-5078, be prepared to provide your name, address, phone number and insurance information to the support staff. You can also self-register by going to www.mcphd.net and clicking on the register here link.
The Rapid Antigen AG CARD test – Binax NOW, which provides results within 15 minutes, will soon be available at the Maple Street Drive-thru site as well. These tests are indicated for symptomatic patients that are within 48 hours of the onset of their symptoms. It is necessary to confirm a negative Rapid Antigen test result with a RT-PCR molecular lab conducted test. Pre-registration is also required for this test. When calling the registration line at 217-313-5078, be prepared to provide your name, address, phone number and insurance information to the support staff. You can also self-register by going to www.mcphd.net and clicking on the register here link.
COVID-19 testing may also be completed at Carlinville Area Hospital call 217-854-3141, ext. 224; Jackie Joyner Kersee Center in East St. Louis call 217-545-5100; Memorial Respiratory Clinic in Springfield call 217-588-4019; Walgreens in Springfield and Cahokia at https://www.walgreens.com/findcare/covid19/testing.
To see up-to-date statistics about COVID-19 cases in Macoupin County, visit and like Macoupin County Public Health Department’s Facebook page or for state-wide statistics visit https://www.dph.illinois.gov/covid19.