SYCAMORE – For the fourth time in the past five days, the DeKalb County Health Department has reported no new coronavirus cases locally, leaving the county as of Monday at 36, including one death.
It’s marked a week of lower reporting numbers, amid the rise in statewide testing, though local public health officials have said not enough testing is being done locally.
The Illinois Department of Public Health announced Monday that the statewide death toll has risen to 794, with 22,025 cases now reported. There have also been 105,768 tests administered, and 87 of Illinois’ 102 counties have reported cases.
On Saturday after three days with no new reported cases, Lisa Gonzalez, public health administrator, said periods of no new reported cases in a county the size of DeKalb is not unusual, but confirmed labs are conducting tests.
Due to the reality of waiting on the lab results to update the numbers, Gonzalez said there may be stretches with no new reported cases like this before they peak back up. Labs conducting testing are not required to report how many tests have been administered, or how many came back negative. They’re only mandated to report positive tests to health departments, Gonzalez said.
“It’s a little unpredictable,” Gonzalez said. “Obviously it has to with the testing being done and how much. It’s not a secret that there’s not as much testing being done as we would like. But I assure you the labs are still reporting. There will be a couple lower days before we see more activity.”
In DeKalb County, the IDPH indicates 19 cases in the 60115 zip code and nine in the 60178 zip code, though the county health department has reported case location by range in municipalities.
In the City of DeKalb there are between 11 and 15 cases, while Sycamore has between six and 10 cases, according to the county health department. Malta, Cortland, Esmond, Sandwich, Shabbona and Hinckley each have between one and five cases.
The total countywide case count includes one person under 19, five in their 20s (including a Northern Illinois University student), eight in their 30s, 12 in their 40s, six in their 50s (including a reported death of a man in his 50s), and four in their 70s.
A Kishwaukee College student also tested positive, along with a second NIU student who does not live in DeKalb County.
Limited testing is being conducted at Northwestern Medicine health system hospitals and private lab facilities across the state, which are prioritizing high-risk patients and those experiencing severe symptoms.
The first case in DeKalb County was announced March 21.
Little else is known about the cases in the county, as public health officials and representatives of Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital have declined to provide any, citing the health privacy laws that prohibit any information be released that could identify the patient.
Source: The Daily Chronicle
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