4 northern Illinois counties now high for COVID hospital admissions; McHenry, DuPage, Lake move to medium

Several northern Illinois counties are seeing an uptick in COVID-19 and now are newly listed at the high or medium level for hospitalizations.

More than half of all Illinois counties have elevated levels of the coronavirus, Illinois Department of Public Health officials announced Friday. Compounding the issue, the state overall has moved to high risk for respiratory illness levels, including the flu or respiratory syncytial virus.

The latest numbers show that Lee, Ogle, Boone and Winnebago counties are labeled high, meaning there were at least 20 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the week per 100,000 people in the population, one of the main gauges the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention uses for COVID-19 risk and prevalence.

They are among 18 counties statewide now in that range, the IDPH said.

McHenry, DuPage, Lake and Cook counties have moved to medium-level risk for COVID-19 hospitalizations, while Will, Kane, Kendall, DeKalb, LaSalle, Bureau, Grundy and Putnam counties remain at low risk.

At the high level of hospital admissions, the CDC encourages people to wear masks, stay up to date with vaccines and, for those at higher risk of serious illness, avoid unnecessary indoor activities.

People also are advised to test for the virus in cases of a suspected contact with a sick person and to isolate if diagnosed.

In medium-risk areas, masks are encouraged indoors for those at higher risk.

Experts have said a winter COVID-19 increase was expected given that people tend to spend more time indoors and gathered with others at the holidays.

That increase is being seen with the flu, too, with state health officials noting flu activity is surging to match the pre-COVID-19 2019-2020 season.

The state reported the deaths of two children from the flu and said they’re investigating a third death as possibly flu-related, calling those cases a “sobering reminder of the potential severity of influenza in children and the importance of vaccination.”

The health department said RSV, another respiratory virus, appears to have stabilized, but with a slight increase in RSV hospital admissions in infants in the past week.

People who get respiratory sickness symptoms – such as coughing, sneezing, sore throat, a runny nose or a fever – are advised to stay home and wear a mask out if necessary to seek medical care.

Other indicators in the latest data show updated virus levels. The number of overall COVID-19-related deaths in Illinois increased by 28% over the previous week based on provisional information. In many areas, levels detected in wastewater monitoring also are on the rise.

Statewide, almost 1,400 new COVID-19-related hospitalizations were reported, 7.7% higher than the previous week, according to the IDPH.

In many parts of the region, less than one-quarter of the population is up to date on the latest COVID-19 vaccinations, according to the CDC, with McHenry, Lee and La Salle counties below 20%. The overall state rate is about 24%.