COVID-19 deaths surge in McHenry County in November, December

After a relatively low number of COVID-19 deaths in McHenry County from August through October, the numbers since November have started to surge again.

McHenry County isn’t alone. The state of Illinois and nation as a whole also are facing record COVID-19 deaths and cases.

The increase in deaths comes down to the fact that in November, compared to earlier months, the area saw a surge of cases, which led to a surge in deaths, said Lindsey Salvatelli, spokeswoman for the McHenry County Department of Health.

“We have people who are coming more indoors and closer together,” Salvatelli said. “Over the summer, we are a little bit more spread out. Possibly there’s some fatigue involved in this as well, where people are missing their family, their friends, and maybe even forgetting that this is still ongoing.”

In August, the local health department reported only one death related to COVID-19. In September, there were four, with two following in October.

Then came 44 deaths in November. As of Dec. 11, the McHenry County health department reported 11 COVID-19 deaths for the month so far.

Since the pandemic began, McHenry County had 176 confirmed total deaths and 16,176 total cases, according to the local health department.

“That’s unfortunate, but it’s the reality of what we’re dealing with,” Salvatelli said. “It’s just also a reminder of why we need to be taking this seriously.”

During a news conference this past Monday, Gov. JB Pritzker said this surge in cases and deaths, which national experts warned about ahead of the holiday season, is the focus of the state’s attention.

“We’re seeing it throughout the Midwest and the nation. Illinois is now averaging 152 deaths per day from COVID-19. That’s an average 35 more individuals per day than the worst rate that we reached back in the spring,” Pritzker said Monday.

“Most of those deaths were preventable if everyone would wear their masks. I can tell you they leave behind countless loved ones who are grieving lives stolen too soon. And I must ask you to please do everything in your power to save your loved ones from that same tragic loss.”

Illinois has seen a total of 14,176 deaths and 841,688 cases as of Saturday.

More than 298,000 people have died from COVID-19 deaths nationwide, and about 16.2 million cases have been reported. The U.S. saw on Thursday more than 3,000 American deaths in a single day, more than D-Day or 9/11, the Associated Press reported.

The McHenry County Coroner’s Office investigated saw a total of 1,674 deaths so far this year, 119 of them from COVID-19, according to data obtained by the Northwest Herald.

On average, between 2014 and 2018, 1577 people died each year in McHenry County, according to coroner records. The average deaths for between January and November of those years was 1,431. The coroner’s office did not have complete data for 2019.

Chief Deputy Coroner Olivia Zednick said the coroner’s office only counts COVID-19 deaths if the person died in McHenry County, not if they died in another county.

Just because someone has a positive COVID-19 test doesn’t mean the coroner’s office automatically signs them off as a COVID-19 death, Zednick said. Before doing that, they would call the person’s primary physician, nursing facility or hospice agency and find out what their health was like before COVID-19.

“Were they already actively declining, actively dying, things like that before [COVID-19] came into play?” Zednick said. “We definitely document that they had [COVID-19], but it’s not necessarily signed out that way on their death certificate.”

However, the McHenry County health department, on the other hand, reports the number of residents who died of COVID-19, even if they died in a different county, such as if they were living in a long-term care facility in Kane or Cook County, Salvatelli said.

After almost a year of dealing with COVID-19, Salvatelli said the health department has a better understanding of it this time around.

“With that being said, we also know that there are there’s this vulnerable population, within our community that we want to try and protect,” she said.

To protect them, Salvatelli said, the health department is stressing the importance of preventative techniques such as washing hands, wearing a face mask and social distancing.

“We have recommended that people stay home unless they absolutely need to go out,” Salvatelli said. “I don’t think anyone wants to be responsible for the death of another person.”