Joe Deacon / WCBU
With nine new fatalities announced Wednesday, the Tri-County area has moved to the brink of reaching 500 deaths linked to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.
However, active cases in the region declined by nearly 300 in the past day, with 2,439 residents in home isolation and 90 coronavirus patients in Peoria-area hospitals, including 27 in intensive care units. Total infections increased by 148, to 30,488 since mid-March.
Five of the most recent victims were from Peoria County; they included a man and a woman both in their 50s, and three people from long-term care facilities. All four Tazewell County victims were at least 60, including a woman in her 90s from Washington Senior Living. The region’s death toll stands at 498.
Important update:Â
The Virginia Department of Health has launched a centralized preregistration system for COVID-19 vaccinations: vaccinate.virginia.gov. This replaces the local surveys that had been used by health districts across the state.
If you have already preregistered with your local health district, your information and place in line should be maintained. You can check on the new site to see if you are in the system.
The state has also launched a hotline, 877-VAX-IN-VA or 877-829-4682, for those who do not have computer access. Callers can speak to someone in English or Spanish, or ask for a call back in 100 languages.Â
Tri-County health officials on Friday reported eight new COVID-19-related deaths, including six victims from Tazewell County.
The latest fatalities bring the region’s death toll since the start of the pandemic to 475, up from 400 reported in the health departments’ last 2020 update on Dec. 30.
Officials reported 274 additional coronavirus infections, bringing the case count to 29,883 since mid-March and 1,437 illnesses in the past week. Active cases moved to 2,781, with 96 patients in Peoria-area hospitals, including 24 in intensive care units.
Five of the six Tazewell County victims were men, including two residents of Aperion Morton Villa – one of whom was in his 40s. The sixth was a woman in her 80s from Generations at Riverview in East Peoria. A Peoria County woman in her 90s from Cornerstone and a Woodford County woman in her 80s also succumbed to the disease.