Rate of new COVID-19 cases in McHenry County three times higher than at beginning of April

The rate of new COVID-19 cases in McHenry County increased by more than 25% since last week and was three times higher than the beginning of April, although it remains low by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention standards, county health department data shows.

In McHenry County, 77,508 total COVID-19 cases, including 481 confirmed deaths and 45 deaths where COVID-19 was likely the cause but was not confirmed, were reported as of Friday. Three new deaths were reported in the past week, county data shows. Each of those deaths happened in April.

The level of transmission in McHenry County remained low under the framework currently used by the CDC as of Friday, the McHenry County Department of Health said.

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 inpatient 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 158.91 new cases per 100,000 residents over the past seven days as of Sunday, up from 124.14 a week before, county data shows.

The rate of COVID-19 cases among children in McHenry County also rose, Illinois Department of Public Health data shows.

Children 5 to 11 years old saw nine new cases each day in the county, an increase from 5.7 cases a week before, and the case rate for kids 12 to 17 years old rose to 5.3 new cases each day as of Friday from 3.9 the week before, according to the seven-day rolling averages reported Friday by the IDPH.

Newborns to 4-year-olds saw a smaller increase at 4.3 new cases each day compared with 4.1 the week before, according to state data.

The seven-day rolling average for new hospital admissions in McHenry County was three COVID-19 patients as of Tuesday, up from two the week before, the IDPH reported. Since Feb. 17, the average has shifted from between one and three admissions a day.

Hospital intensive care unit availability across McHenry and Lake counties rose to 30% as of Thursday, up from 26% a week earlier, state data shows.

Across Illinois, the seven-day rolling average for the number of new hospital admissions tied to COVID-19 was 59 as of Tuesday, the IDPH reported. Of the 732 hospitalized for COVID-19, 75 were in the ICU and 32 were on ventilators as of Thursday.

An additional 2,433 vaccines were administered in McHenry County in the past week, bringing the total to 524,068 in the county, the IDPH reported. The state reported that 106,565 booster shots have been administered in the county.

A total of 201,368, or an estimated 65.26% of McHenry County’s population, now are fully vaccinated, meaning they’ve received all doses recommended for the vaccine they were given.

Across Illinois, 81.4% of those age 5 and older have received at least one dose of a vaccine against COVID-19, and 73% are fully vaccinated, the IDPH reported Friday. Those rates are 85.3% and 76.5% for those age 12 and older, 86.7% and 77.7% for people age 18 and older, and 95% and 88.5% for those age 65 and older, respectively.

Illinois’ seven-day rolling average for case rate stood at 27.6 cases per 100,000 people as of Friday, with 46 deaths reported in the past week. Illinois now has seen 3,138,682 COVID-19 cases, 33,614 confirmed deaths and 4,284 probable deaths.

Neighboring Lake County’s health department reported a total of 127,636 cases and 1,378 deaths through Thursday. To the south, Kane County’s health department reported 128,492 cases and 1,125 deaths as of Thursday.

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 12,648 confirmed, according to county data. McHenry (60050) follows with 8,877.

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) 7,948 cases; Lake in the Hills (60156) 7,479; Huntley (60142) 6,247; Cary (60013) 5,903; Algonquin (60102) 5,453; Johnsburg and McHenry (60051) 4,713; Harvard (60033) 3,799; Marengo (60152) 2,774; Crystal Lake, Bull Valley and Prairie Grove (60012) 2,754; Wonder Lake (60097) 2,722; Spring Grove (60081) 1,558; Fox River Grove (60021) 1,200; Island Lake (60042) 999; Richmond (60071) 737; Hebron (60034) 437; Barrington (60010) 354; Union (60180) 302; and Ringwood and Wonder Lake (60072) 202.