The DeKalb County Health Department on Thursday announced 42 new cases of COVID-19, issuing an additional warning for residents to take precautions as the health region slides back into potential warning zones per Illinois Department of Public Health criteria.
New cases of the viral respiratory disease were identified in every age bracket in the county Thursday, with 28 out of the 42 cases in their 20s or younger.
The total number of cases as of Thursday rose to 1,586, and no new deaths were announced. No new cases were linked to long-term care facilities Thursday, and Northern Illinois University reported just four more cases Thursday, one day after the university reported its largest single-day total of cases identified in a 24-hour period.
Some NIU cases may not count towards the DeKalb County total, as cases reportedly linked to campus could be among those who live outside the county. The DeKalb County Health Department only reports cases linked to county residents, likewise, NIU reports cases linked to campus regardless of residence.
DeKalb County is designated Region 1, which also includes Rockford and northwest Illinois counties that border Wisconsin and Iowa, both states seeing surges in COVID-19 cases currently.
Region 1, which includes DeKalb County along with Rockford and northwest Illinois counties that border Wisconsin and Iowa, turned in a 7.5% positivity rate on Wednesday, and Gov. JB Pritzker warned that the region that includes DeKalb County has a positivity rate growing “at a concerning rate,” a sentiment echoed by the health department Thursday.
The state has a threshold of 8% for three consecutive days before it steps in for mitigations. It has done so on two occasions in the past two months, putting restrictions on Region 4 (Metro East) and Region 7 (Will and Kankakee counties).
Region 1 was placed in a warning category per the IDPH Sept. 11, and taken out of it the following week. Rising cases and positivity rates could bring that category back this week, officials said in a news release.
Restrictions for those regions included limiting indoor dining, no indoor service for bars and no seating of multiple parties at one table in restaurants, among other efforts aimed at slowing down the spread of the virus.
New cases Thursday included 13 in residents 19 or younger, 15 in their 20s, five in their 30s, two in their 40s, one in their 50s, two in their 60s, three in their 70s and one in their 80s.
To date, long-term care facility cases include seven at Oak Crest-DeKalb Area Retirement Center in DeKalb. Willow Crest Nursing Pavilion in Sandwich remained at 66 total cases of the viral respiratory disease, with 13 deaths in residents. DeKalb County Rehabilitation and Nursing Center remained at seven cases.
The death toll remained at 38 in the county (the latest reported Friday was an infant, younger than 1 year old).
In total, 262 cases have been reported among residents younger than 20, 480 in their 20s, 214 in their 30s, 194 in their 40s, 172 in their 50s, 104 in their 60s, 74 in their 70s and 86 in their 80s or older.
This story will be updated.
Source: The Daily Chronicle
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