March 28, 2024
Coronavirus | Northwest Herald


Coronavirus

McHenry County reports 137 new COVID-19 cases, one additional death

The McHenry County Department of Health reported 137 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and one additional death Wednesday.

This brings the county’s totals to 13,510 confirmed cases, 156 related deaths and six additional deaths where the cause was likely COVID-19 but not confirmed. The county’s recovery rate currently sits at 98%.

According to McHenry County's COVID-19 dashboard, 66% of deaths – 103 of 156 – have been associated with long-term care facilities.

The Illinois Department of Public Health reported Wednesday that a woman in her 70s, woman in her 80s, three men in their 80s, woman in her 90s and two men in their 90s were the eight latest deaths in McHenry County.

McHenry County residents have been tested a total of 155,299 times since the pandemic began, according to county-specific data collected by the IDPH.

Tier 3 of the IDPH's COVID-19 mitigation measures took effect across the state Nov. 20.

The new restrictions shut down a few industries, such as casinos and theaters, and tightened capacity restrictions on many others.

In order to move back to Tier 2, which is less restrictive, Region 9 (McHenry and Lake counties) must meet three metrics tracked by the Illinois Department of Public Health.

First, the region must report a seven-day average test positivity rate of less than 12% for three consecutive days. As of Wednesday, McHenry County’s positivity rate was 16.2% and Region 9 was at 12.8%.

Second, both intensive care unit and medical/surgical bed availability must be greater than 20% for three consecutive days. As of Wednesday, Region 9 was satisfying this metric for ICU beds but not medical/surgical beds, according to regional data from the IDPH.

Third, the region must show a decline in average COVID-19 hospitalizations for seven out of the past 10 days. On Wednesday, Region 9 reported seven days of decreases in hospital admissions for COVID-19 out of the past 10 days, satisfying this metric as well.

Gov. JB Pritzker said Monday, however, none of the state's 11 health care regions would advance to Tier 2 mitigations "for a few weeks" even if they hit the necessary metrics because of Thanksgiving holiday gatherings.

Statewide, the IDPH reported a total of 748,603 confirmed cases and 12,639 related deaths. So far, Illinois has conducted 10,699,586 COVID-19 tests. The statewide recovery rate is 97%.

Among McHenry County ZIP codes, Crystal Lake (60014) has the highest number of COVID-19 cases with a total of 2,031 confirmed cases reported over the course of the pandemic, according to county data. Woodstock (60098) follows with 1,676 cases.