PEORIA, Ill. – The Tri-County area has hit another high water mark in terms of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Officials say the number of confirmed cases since the pandemic began in Peoria, Tazewell, and Woodford Counties has now eclipsed 50,000 — totaling 50,024 as of Thursday, after increasing 664 in the last week.
In Peoria County, the number of cases is now at 25,381. Tazewell County is now at 19,164. Woodford County is now at 5,479.
UnityPoint Health pulmonologist, Dr. Ravi Kashyap, says many of the patients he’s now seeing who end up being hospitalized, didn’t think they would be there.
“I can see the fear in their eyes,” said Kashyap. “Many of them admit that they should have taken the vaccine, but some of them are unable to tell me that.”
Kashyap says some families still don’t believe COVID-19 is real, even as family members are being treated for the virus in the Intensive Care Unit. Kashyap says it’s not for a lack of trying.
“We try lovingly…to try to explain, and answer their questions,” said Kashyap. “Not all of them are convinced, but many of them are.”
There are currently 23 people in local ICU’s, while 71 people are hospitalized not in Intensive Care.
Officials say for the first time in weeks, the seven-day rolling average of new cases per days is now under 100.
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