COVID-19 threat in La Salle County remains low, according to CDC

La Salle County’s Community Level of COVID-19 remains low, according to guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The La Salle County Health Department reported one death from complications related to COVID-19 since March 11 — a woman in her 50s.

Her death is the fifth this month. There were nine in all of March of last year, according to the La Salle County Health Department. There have been 456 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.

In the past seven days, there were 60.73 cases per 100,000 people, five new hospital admissions of confirmed COVID-19 and 1.1% of staffed inpatient beds in use by patients with confirmed COVID-19.

The health department reported 63 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 — four boys younger than 13, five girls younger than 13, five teenage boys, four teenage girls, a man in his 20s, six women in their 20s, three men in their 30s, five women in their 30s, three men in their 40s, three women in their 40s, two men in their 50s, five women in their 50s, four men in their 60s, a woman in her 60s, seven men in their 70s, a woman in her 70s, three women in their 80s and a woman in her 90s.

Since March 11, there have been 292 residents removed from isolation.

In February, the CDC released a new framework to monitor the level of COVID-19 in communities. The new community levels combine hospital capacity and COVID-19 hospital admissions with cases to identify when a community is facing a low, medium, or high level of risk from COVID-19. The CDC will look to adjust recommendations based on the level of COVID-19 in a community and the strain on healthcare. Regardless of community level, recommendations for isolation for those testing positive and those exposed, isolation and quarantine also remain the same, including masking from days 6 to 10 when isolation/quarantine end.

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

La Salle County Health Department urges everyone 5 years and older to get vaccinated and all eligible individuals to get a booster. Individuals who need to start the COVID-19 vaccination series or a booster, call the La Salle County Health Department at 815-433-3366 to schedule an appointment.  The health department has Johnson and Johnson, Moderna and Pfizer available.

To search for vaccine locations available near you visit https://www.vaccines.gov/