KEWANEE, Ill. — The COVID-19 Pandemic is touching some of our area's smallest communities. Henry and Stark counties are seeing two of the lowest, seven-day rolling average positivity rates in Region Two.
Henry County currently has a positivity rate of 6.5 percent, while Stark County sits at 3.1 percent. Two weeks ago, the rate was nearly triple that in Stark County, but health officials with the Henry/Stark County Health Department say the lower percentages don't necessarily mean cases are down in the area.
"If we get maybe five (positive) cases in a small county, if you multiply based on population), it's a much larger drop in the bucket compared to a larger county," Director of Health Promotion RaeAnn Tucker says.
She says the real battle now is making sure everyone still complies with the safety guidance in place with Restore Illinois Phase Four, like wearing face masks in public, maintaining social distancing and avoiding large gatherings.
"We might be sick of it, but COVID-19 isn't done with us unfortunately," Tucker says. "When you look at pandemics, like in 1918, those second and third waves had more of an impact on rural areas because they might not have learned the lessons that the metropolitan areas learned with the first wave."
In Region Two, eight of the twenty counties have a seven-day rolling average positivity rate above the eight percent threshold set by the state. If all other counties catch up, that could mean more mitigation efforts affecting local businesses and social gatherings.