JACKSON CO (WSIL)--COVID-19 numbers keep rising throughout Southern Illinois and Jackson County is no exception.
Health officials said the county has experienced an 1,100% increase in infections and they're making a plea to the community.
"We see those numbers as being very concerning and ones that should raise red flags for everyone," said Jackson County Health administrator Bart Hagston.
For the week ending on October 3rd, the Jackson County Health Department reported 24 positive COVID-19 cases.
Last Saturday, there were 302 positive cases.
Hagston said the usual precautions should still be observed, socially distance and wear a mask, but there are other factors when it comes to transmission.
"Making sure you're really limiting the number of people that you're around. Some people are doing that in certain parts of their lives, but aren't taking actions to limit small social gatherings that they might have at their home," said Hagston.
Another big factor in the high spread of COVID-19 is going out in public with mild symptoms.
"People tend to rationalize 'well it's just a cold or it's just seasonal allergies.' So they want to rationalize why they might still go outside of their home when they have those symptoms. And come to find out, they are COVID a lot of the time," said Hagston
Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, fatigue, headache or body aches, sore throat, new loss of taste or smell, or congestion or runny nose, many of which do not seem unusual for people.
Now Hagston is calling on not just Jackson County but surrounding communities to help slow the spread of the virus.
"To turn the tide here, we need everyone to take personal responsibility. This is a problem that is presenting itself to us as a community and it's going to take us as a community to address it, and that's what we need to happen right now," said Hagston.
Hagston also emphasized the importance of wearing a mask when around people not in your household, washing hands frequently, and limiting social interactions whenever possible.
