SPRINGFIELD (WSIL) -- The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) says 51 counties, half the number of counties in the state, are at a "warning level" for COVID-19. Ten of them are in southern Illinois.
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 51 Illinois counties at a warning level on Friday, Oct. 23 were:
- Adams
- Bond
- Boone
- Carroll
- Cass
- Christian
- Clay
- Clinton
- Crawford
- DeKalb
- Douglas
- Edwards,
- Fayette
- Ford
- Franklin
- Gallatin
- Greene
- Hamilton
- Henderson
- Jersey
- Jo Daviess
- Johnson
- Kane
- Kendall
- Knox
- LaSalle
- Lee
- Macon
- Macoupin
- McDonough
- McHenry
- Mercer
- Morgan
- Moultrie
- Ogle
- Perry
- Pike
- Pulaski
- Rock Island
- Saline
- Shelby
- Stephenson
- Union
- Vermilion
- Wabash
- Warren
- Wayne
- Whiteside
- Will
- Williamson
- Winnebago
"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 gatherings in people’s homes, weddings and funerals, bars and clubs, university and college parties as well as college sports teams, family gatherings, long-term care facilities, correctional centers, schools, and cases among the community at large, especially people in their 20s," said a release Friday from the Illinois Department of Public Health.
On Friday, IDPH announced 3,874 new confirmed cases of coronavirus COVID-19 in the state, including 31 additional confirmed deaths.
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 364,033 cases of COVID-19, including 9,418 deaths, in Illinois.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity rate for October 16 â€� October 22 is 5.6%.Â
According to IDPH, the seven-day rolling average positivity rate for  as of Oct. 20 was 8.7%