Reditus Labs of Pekin said 95% of the random positive test samples collected July 2-27 from testing sites in Bloomington-Normal, Champaign-Urbana, Peoria, Rockford and the Metro East in Southern Illinois showed the Delta variant was present.

WGLT | By Eric StockPublished August 3, 2021 at 1:52 PM CDT

Reditus Labs of Pekin said 95% of the random positive test samples collected July 2-27 from testing sites in Bloomington-Normal, Champaign-Urbana, Peoria, Rockford and the Metro East in Southern Illinois showed the Delta variant was present.

“The Delta variant has clearly become the dominant strain out of our positive samples,” said Reditus CEO Dr. Aaron Rossi.

Reditus conducted the sequencing test on 367 random positive samples on July 29 at its lab in Pekin. Reditus conducted similar testing in July and found the Delta variant in 18% of random samples conducted from June 4 to July 7.

New coronavirus cases

On Tuesday, the McLean County Health Department (MCHD) announced 36 new coronavirus cases. The positive tests came from a batch of about 400 tests returned overnight.

Hospitalizations increased to 14 among McLean County residents. That’s up from 12 on Monday.

Bloomington-Normal hospitals said they have 14 COVID patients in their care. MCHD said 205 McLean County residents are isolating at home. The county’s total of 219 active cases is its highest since May 20. According to county data, 24 people completed their time in quarantine since Monday and 18,503 people are considered recovered from COVID-19 since the pandemic started more than a year ago.

The county’s COVID death toll remains 241.

McLean County’s seven-day testing positivity rate rose to 4%, just below the state average and well below the national rate. The county’s cumulative positivity rate stands at 4.8%, based on more than 392,300 tests conducted since the start of the pandemic. https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2021-08-03/delta-becomes-dominant-covid-strain-in-b-n-vaccinations-rise