New COVID-19 cases remain low in McHenry County despite uptick in hospitalizations

Hospitalizations across McHenry and Lake counties remain higher than one week ago, increasing seven of the past 10 days, Illinois Department of Public Health data shows.

The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the two counties was 29 as of late Thursday, according to the seven-day rolling average reported by the IDPH. The number remains around the region’s totals in July and far below the peak seen in January.

Intensive care unit availability in the two counties was 28% as of Thursday, the same as one week earlier, state data showed.

Across Illinois, the number of hospitalizations tied to COVID-19 was 502 as of late Thursday, about the same as a week earlier, the IDPH reported. Of those hospitalized, 62 patients were in the ICU and 24 were on ventilators.

The level of transmission in McHenry County remained low under the newest framework released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, county data showed Friday.

That means the county saw fewer than 200 cases per 100,000 residents over the past seven days; the number of people being admitted to the hospital for COVID-19 was fewer than 10 per 100,000 residents, also over seven days; and the percentage of staffed in-patient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients was less than 10%, as measured by a seven-day average, according to the CDC.

The county’s COVID-19 incidence rate was 43.87 new cases per 100,000 residents over the past seven days as of Sunday, down from a week prior, county data shows.

No new COVID-19 outbreaks were reported Friday by the Illinois Department of Public Health at McHenry County schools or youth organizations, marking the third week with no new outbreaks.

One outbreak, reported March 16, remains the only youth-related outbreak reported in McHenry County in the past eight weeks.That outbreak involved six students at Glacier Ridge Elementary School in Crystal Lake, according to the weekly state report.

An outbreak is defined as three or more cases within 14 days in which the people involved are connected in some way – for example, a shared classroom, school bus or club.

McHenry County is one of five counties statewide with an active outbreak. The rate of cases among children remains low in McHenry County and across Illinois since plunging from January highs, state data shows.

An additional 3,725 vaccines were administered in McHenry County in the last week, bringing the total to 514,557 in the county, the IDPH reported. The average number administered each day has more than doubled, hitting 532 Thursday compared to 190 a week prior.

A total of 200,632, or an estimated 65.02% of McHenry County’s population, are now fully vaccinated, meaning they’ve received all doses recommended for the vaccine they were given. The state reported that 105,138 booster shots have been administered in the county.

Across Illinois, 81.2% of those age 5 and older have received at least one dose of a vaccine against COVID-19, and 72.6% are fully vaccinated, the IDPH reported Friday. Those rates are 85.1% and 76.1% for those age 12 and older, 86.4% and 77.2% for people 18 and older, and 95% and 87.9% for those age 65 and older, respectively.

McHenry County now has seen 76,146 total cases, including 477 deaths, and 45 deaths that likely were caused by COVID-19 but have not been confirmed, according to data from the McHenry County Department of Health.

Two additional deaths were reported this week, both of which occurred in February.

Among McHenry County ZIP codes, Crystal Lake (60014) has the highest total number of COVID-19 cases over the course of the pandemic with a total of 12,404 confirmed, according to county data. McHenry (60050) follows with 8,699.

The McHenry County health department reports ZIP code data only for parts within McHenry County, a department spokeswoman said. Any discrepancies between county and IDPH numbers likely are because of the data’s provisional nature and because each health department finalizes its data at different times, she said.

The following is the rest of the local breakdown of cases by ZIP code: Woodstock (60098) 7,811 cases; Lake in the Hills (60156) 7,332; Huntley (60142) 6,101; Cary (60013) 5,779; Algonquin (60102) 5,367; Johnsburg and McHenry (60051) 4,641; Harvard (60033) 3,766; Marengo (60152) 2,747; Crystal Lake, Bull Valley and Prairie Grove (60012) 2,713; Wonder Lake (60097) 2,683; Spring Grove (60081) 1,539; Fox River Grove (60021) 1,177; Island Lake (60042) 976; Richmond (60071) 721; Hebron (60034) 431; Barrington (60010) 349; Union (60180) 298; and Ringwood and Wonder Lake (60072) 194.