ROCK ISLAND, Ill — On October 5th, Illinois reported more than 1800 new cases, Rock Island County reporting 24 new cases. In Iowa more than 350 coronavirus cases were reported on the same day.
COVID-19 case numbers are on the rise in Scott County. On September 25th, 2,906 cases were reported. Three days later, case numbers spiked, jumping to 3,051.
Director of the Scott County Health Department, Edward Rivers, says people are putting themselves at a higher risk of contracting the virus, "We think it has to do with people not being cautious."
"We had a lot of accounts of people having been in bars unmasked and unprotected," said Rivers.
Just across the river, Rock Island County reported 3298 cases on October 5th. 24 fewer than those on the Iowa side.
Janet Hill from the Rock Island County Health Department says, "We are very concerned about Scott County's numbers." She says Illinois numbers were initially higher because of the cases coming out of Tyson, "We also have a prison here so we have more cases there... I think in Scott County its pretty much community transmission."
While masking up is enforced on one side of the Mississippi, Hill says that's not the case on the Illinois side, "Iowa doesn't have a mask mandate, Illinois does."
Hill fears numbers could spike further, "We hope our Iowa residents here in the Quad Cities understand how important masking is to controlling the virus."
The Rock Island County Health Department officials say if the county were to go into warning status, dining in will be curtailed, as already seen in some Illinois counties.