A vast majority of Illinois' counties are listed as having low risk of COVID-19 transmission, but not all are in the same boat as several are still considered high risk.
According to an update map released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 68 counties were said to be low risk. An additional 34 counties were placed in the medium category. In those areas, masks aren't required, however, individuals at high risk of severe illness from COVID are advised to talk with their doctor about if they should wear a mask and take other precautions.
Transmission levels have greatly improved in northern Illinois where nearly the whole region is listed in the low risk category. However, the COVID situations vary throughout the rest of the state.
Masks continue to be recommended in six downstate counties considered high risk under new metrics implemented by the CDC last month that focus less on cases and give more weight to hospitalizations and hospital capacity.
The metrics released Thursday were an improvement from a week earlier when masks were recommended in a total of 21 counties.
So, what steps should you take and where does your county stand?
All of Illinois' 102 counties are listed below, categorized by community level status:
To learn more information about the situation in your community, you can find the CDC's map of community levels by county here.
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High
- Effingham County
- Fayette County
- Gallatin County
- Johnson County
- Perry County
- Saline County
Medium
- Adams County
- Champaign County
Christian County - Clay County
- Coles County
- Cumberland County
- Douglas County
- Edwards County
- Franklin County
- Ford County
- Fulton County
- Hardin County
- Jackson County
- Jasper County
- Knox County
- Logan County
- Marshall County
- Massac County
- Mason County
- Montgomery County
- Peoria County
- Pike County
- Pope County
- Richland County
- Tazewell County
- Wabash County
- Warren County
- Williamson County
Low
- Alexander County
- Bond County
- Boone County
- Brown County
- Bureau County
- Calhoun County
- Carroll County
- Cass County
- Clark County
- Clinton County
- Cook County
- Crawford County
- Dekalb County
- Dewitt County
- DuPage County
- Edgar County
- Effingham County
- Fayette County
- Gallatin County
- Greene County
- Grundy County
- Hamilton County
- Hancock County
- Hardin County
- Henderson County
- Henry County
- Iroquois County
- Jefferson County
- Jersey County
- Jo Daviess County
- Johnson County
- Kane County
- Kankakee County
- Kendall County
- Lake County
- LaSalle County
- Lawrence County
- Lee County
- Livingston County
- Macon County
- Macoupin County
- Madison County
- Marion County
- Massac County
- McDonough County
- McHenry County
- McLean County
- Menard County
- Mercer County
- Monroe County
- Morgan County
- Moultrie County
- Ogle County
- Perry County
- Piatt County
- Pope County
- Pulaski County
- Putnam County
- Randolph County
- Rock Island County
- Saline County
- Sangamon County
- Schuyler County
- Scott County
- Shelby County
- St. Clair County
- Stark County
- Stephenson County
- Union County
- Vermilion County
- Washington County
- Wayne County
- White County
- Whiteside County
- Will County
- Winnebago County
- Woodford County
