Coronavirus kills three in Union County, Illinois

Three additional deaths in the region Thursday were attributed to the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Union County, Illinois, has become the region’s COVID-19 hotspot, with the Southern Seven Health Department reporting three more of the county’s residents died because of the virus. The victims were a man in his 80s, a woman in her 80s and a woman in her 90s. Four of the county’s residents have died because of the virus.

The county’s total number of COVID-19 cases grew by eight Thursday, pushing the county’s total to 108. On Wednesday, health department officials reported a spike of 38 new virus cases in the county. Of those 108 patients, only 15 have recovered from the virus, though about half of the total cases have been reported within the past week.

Stoddard County, Missouri, health department officials reported four new virus cases, bumping the county’s total to 34. Of those 34, 20 have recovered from the virus.

Scott County Health Department reported 84 cases, up one from Wednesday. Six county residents have died because of the virus, and 63 have recovered from it.

No new cases were reported in Cape Girardeau (51), Bollinger (4) or Perry (46) counties in Missouri or Alexander County (7) in Illinois.