La Salle County child dies of COVID-19 complications

A “pediatric child” died from COVID-19 complications, according to a report issued Friday by the La Salle County Health Department.

The child’s death is the youngest COVID-related death in La Salle County since the beginning of the pandemic. The child’s age was not released. Prior to the child’s death, the youngest victims of COVID-related deaths were in their 30s.

There have been 507 deaths from COVID-19 complications in La Salle County since the beginning of the pandemic, with 119 of them coming in 2022, 157 in 2021 and 231 in 2020.

Along with the reported death, La Salle County’s COVID-19 risk has been upgraded to medium, according to guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The community level is based on these combined indicators. In the past seven days through Thursday, La Salle County had a case rate of 219.01 per 100,000; a new hospital admissions rate of confirmed COVID-19 patients of 7.1 per 100,000; and the percentage of staffed inpatient beds in use by patients with confirmed COVID-19 cases is 3.8%.

At medium risk, the CDC strongly recommends individuals at highest risk or who have high risk individuals living in their household should consider wearing masks in indoor public places.

It’s also important to remember the following precautions, if you are immunocompromised or high risk for severe diseases talk to your healthcare provider about whether you need to wear a mask and take other precautions (e.g., testing); have a plan for rapid testing if needed (e.g., having home tests or access to testing); talk to your healthcare provider about whether you are a candidate for treatments like oral antivirals, PrEP, and monoclonal antibodies.

If you have household or social contact with someone at high risk for severe disease consider self-testing to detect infection before contact; consider wearing a mask when indoors with them; stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines and boosters; maintain improved ventilation throughout indoor spaces when possible; follow CDC recommendations for isolation and quarantine, including getting tested if you are exposed to COVID-19 or have symptoms of COVID-19.

There were 159 new COVID-19 cases confirmed in La Salle County since Dec. 29 and 153 residents with previously confirmed cases who were removed from quarantine.

The La Salle County Health Department schedules all COVID-19 tests online. Access the link at https://hipaa.jotform.com/220026540796151

The health department also urges everyone 6 months and older to get vaccinated and all eligible individuals to get a bivalent booster. The La Salle County Health Department has COVID-19 vaccine available at the health department by appointment only, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Residents who still need to be vaccinated or are in need of a bivalent booster dose should visit www.lasallecounty.org, click on the COVID-19 Resource Page and then the Vaccine information icon to schedule an appointment. To search for vaccine locations available, visit https://www.vaccines.gov/