(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Health officials on Friday reported four Illinois counties are at "warning level" for novel coronavirus, and they blame "risky behavior" and large gatherings for driving COVID-19 metrics upward.
The news comes as the Illinois Department of Public Health reported a daily coronavirus case count of 1,532 new cases, including 19 additional deaths. Early this month, these daily numbers had decreased notably.
The counties that are triggering the warnings are Adams, LaSalle, Peoria and Randolph, the state agency said in news release. Health officials say people congregating is the common issue among the regions, which are scattered across the state.
"These counties saw outbreaks associated with business and risky behavior," state health officials said.
In Peoria County, another factor cited was people traveling to Florida, Iowa, Texas and Wisconsin — states that are either considered "hot spots," or getting there. Randolph County has "numerous bars not complying with distancing and masking," IDPH said.
Indicators that state officials zero in on include a virus "positivity" rate above 8%, an increased number of deaths related to COVID-19 and a spike in the number of hospitalizations.
The news release doesn't say what will happen to the four counties, but Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has warned that any of the state's larger 11 EMS regions could be "rolled back" as the rest of the state continues to reopen following pandemic lockdowns.
The Illinois "positivity" rate was 3.4% -- about a point more than the level from early this month.
