As a coronavirus outbreak continues at a state prison, the Rock Island County Health Department reports three more older people have died.
Nita Ludwig, head of the health department, says a total of 71 people have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began. And there have been a total of 2,556 confirmed cases in Rock Island County.
Only two of today's 26 reported cases in the Illinois Quad Cities are from the East Moline Correctional Center.
The Illinois Department of Corrections is handling the outbreak at the East Moline prison. Spokeswoman Lindsey Hess says inmates with symptoms are isolated and tested for the virus.
In addition, staff are screened as they arrive, including temperature checks. So far, nine employees have tested positive for COVID-19. But only two of those cases are still active. The other seven have recovered.
Ludwig says community spread is a bigger problem in the Illinois Quad Cities compared to cases at the East Moline prison.
Only about 273 cases are associated with the prison, or approximately 10% of the total in Rock Island County.
She is asking everyone to wash their hands frequently, watch your distance, and wear a face covering when you can't stay six feet from people outside your household.
In the Iowa Quad Cities, the Scott County Health Department says two people died over the weekend, bringing the total number of deaths to 23.
And there have been 2,390 COVID-19 cases in Scott County.
For the entire Quad Cities, the total number of cases is approaching 5,000 (4,946).
