The Mercer County Health Department (MCHD) announced Friday that Mercer County remains on warning level risk for COVID-19 for a second week in a row. The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) uses numerous indicators when determining if a county is experiencing stable COVID-19 activity, or if there are warning signs of increased COVID-19 risk in the county. A county is considered at the warning level when at least two IDPH data metrics triggers a warning. Mercer County reached warning level in two areas:
- New case positivity (If there are more than 50 new cases per 100,000 people in the county, this triggers a warning.) Mercer County is currently at 231/100,000 (up from 167/100 from last week).
- Test positivity percentage (This metric indicates a warning when the 7-day test positivity rate rises above 8%.). Mercer County is currently at 12.6% which is an increase from 8.8% last week.
Per IDPH, these metrics are intended to be used for local level awareness to help local leaders, businesses, local health departments, and the public make informed decisions about personal and family gatherings, as well as what activities they choose to do. The metrics are updated weekly, from the Sunday-Saturday of the prior week.