A coronavirus outbreak has been reported at a long-term care facility in Macomb; and an independent, nonprofit newsroom found the number of COVID-19 cases at a Monmouth meatpacking plant is much higher than previously announced.
Countryview Care Center
The McDonough County Health Department said there is a COVID-19 outbreak at Countryview Care Center in Macomb.
The department said there are two confirmed cases at the long-term care facility and one probable case. The department said the state defines an outbreak at a long-term care facility as one or more positive cases along with other cases of people who are ill with symptoms.
The health department said it is providing guidance to Countryview. The advice includes remaining closed to visitors, conducting health screening of staff twice per shift, and limiting new admissions to the facility.
Smithfield Foods
The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting said the Smithfield Foods plant in Monmouth had 188 confirmed coronavirus cases and 7 probable cases between April and September. Just 3 cases at the plant had previously been made public.
The Center said it obtained the data through a Freedom of Information Act request.
The Center’s investigation also found publicly undisclosed cases at Illinois schools and prisons. You can read the full story about the investigation here.
The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting describes itself as a nonprofit, online newsroom offering investigative and enterprise coverage of agribusiness, Big Ag, and related issues through data analysis, visualizations, in-depth reports, and interactive web tools.
Cases around the Region
The number of coronavirus cases continues rising in counties around the tri states. More deaths are being reported too. In the past week, Warren and Adams counties each reported 3 more deaths attributed to COVID-19, Knox County had 4, and Lee and Van Buren counties each reported 1 death.
Here are the figures for total COVID-19 cases and deaths in the region during the pandemic through Wednesday, October 14, 2020. The totals for the previous week are in parentheses. The statistics come from the individual coronavirus websites created by Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri.
- Adams County: 1,458 cases, 13 deaths (1,298/10)
- Brown County: 82 cases, 0 deaths (75/0)
- Cass County: 435 cases, 11 deaths (418/11)
- Clark County: 85 cases, 0 deaths (74/0)
- Des Moines County: 1,041 cases, 9 deaths (931/9)
- Fulton County: 321 cases, 0 deaths (232/0)
- Hancock County: 259 cases, 3 deaths (242/3)
- Henderson County: 93 cases, 0 deaths (79/0)
- Knox County: 937 cases, 8 deaths (794/4)
- Lee County: 790 cases, 9 deaths (720/8)
- McDonough County: 577 cases, 15 deaths (517/15)
- Schuyler County: 74 cases, 1 death (63/1)
- Van Buren County: 143 cases, 2 deaths (129/1)
- Warren County: 414 cases, 6 deaths (369/3)
This story was produced by Tri States Public Radio. TSPR relies on financial support from our readers and listeners in order to provide coverage of the issues that matter to west central Illinois, southeast Iowa, and northeast Missouri. As someone who values the content created by TSPR's news department please consider making a financial contribution.
