Number of COVID-19 cases rise to 3 in St. Joseph

The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District reported that there are two additional confirmed cases of the Coronavirus in St. Joseph. The public health department is now reporting three cases within the 61873 zip code.

Since Tuesday, 39 residents in the county have tested positive for COVID-19 virus. Twenty-five infected individuals were identified in the past two days as the number of confirmed cases continue to rise. Up from around 17 about a week ago, the current number of active cases is now up to 54.


The county has tested 3,361 individuals as of yesterday. One hundred and forty-nine have tested positive, 89 people have recovered and so far just six individuals have lost their lives battling the "invisible enemy" as President Donald Trump routinely calls it.

In other nearby communities, Homer is reporting two cases, Sidney has one and the total number in Rantoul has surged to 17 cases as Friday.

To prevent further spread of the pathogen, the CUPHD is recommending any individual over age 2 and able to medically tolerate a face covering or mask will be required to wear one in a public place where a six-foot social distance cannot be maintained at all times. Wearing a barrier over the nose and mouth, as required by Governor J.B. Pritzker's executive order extension starting yesterday, is the ideal method to keep those with COVID-19 symptoms and asymptomatic carriers from shedding viral material, which is known to remain active on some surfaces for up to 5 days depending on temperature and humidity.

State-wide there have been 284,688 Illinois residents tested to date with 56,055 testing positive. The state has seen the death of 2,457 people from COVID-19 related complications or symptoms.