SPRINGFIELD (WSIL) -- The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) says 17 counties in the state are at a "warning level" for COVID-19.
According to IDPH, a county enters a warning level when it experiences an increase in two or more risk indicators from the state’s COVID-19 Resurgence Mitigation plan.
The 17 Illinois counties at a warning level on Friday, Sept. 25 were:
- Bond
- Boone
- Cass
- Christian
- Clinton
- Crawford
- DeWitt
- Fayette
- Grundy
- Hamilton
- Macon
- Menard
- Peoria
- Putnam
- Washington
- Wayne
- Winnebago
This is the first time Hamilton County has appeared on the IDPH's warning level list. It's the second week in a row for Wayne County.
"Although the reasons for counties reaching a warning level varies, some of the common factors for an increase in cases and outbreaks are associated with university and college parties as well as college sports teams, large gatherings and events, bars and clubs, weddings and funerals, long-term care facilities, correctional centers, schools, and cases among the community at large," said a release Friday from the Illinois Department of Public Health.
On Friday, IDPH announced 2,514 new confirmed cases of coronavirus COVID-19 in the state, including 25 additional confirmed deaths.
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 283,885 cases of COVID-19, including 8,563 deaths, in Illinois.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity rate for September 18 � September 24 is 3.6%.
According to IDPH, the positivity rate for  as of Sept. 22 was 6.3%
