McHenry County falls to ‘low’ COVID-19 spread for first time in several months

For the first time since late June, the spread of COVID-19 in McHenry County fell to “low” under thresholds set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The county’s case rate has steadily declined since the beginning of September, McHenry County Department of Health data showed. But despite the “low” spread, intensive care unit availability also has steadily declined since the beginning of the month, state data shows.

The “low” level of community transmission means the county saw fewer than 200 cases per 100,000 residents over the past seven days; fewer than 10 new admissions, also per 100,000 residents; and less than 15% of its staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients, according to the CDC.

As of Friday, McHenry County has seen 91,020 total COVID-19 cases, including 489 confirmed deaths and 48 deaths where COVID-19 likely was the cause but was not confirmed, the McHenry County Department of Health reported. No additional deaths have occurred since June 25.

The county saw 117.97 new cases per 100,000 residents over the past seven days as of Sunday, down from 154.69 the week before, according to the incidence rate reported by the McHenry County health department.

While the number of vaccines administered each week has long hovered around 1,000, the past week saw that number jump to 3,839, bringing the total to 563,602 in the county, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported. It’s the second week in a row that vaccinations have hovered around 4,000.

The state reported that 114,846 booster shots have been administered in the county.

A total of 204,463 people, about 66.26% of McHenry County’s population, are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, meaning they’ve received all doses recommended for the vaccine they were given.

Across Illinois, 81.8% of those age 5 and older have received at least one dose of a vaccine against COVID-19, and 74% were fully vaccinated, the IDPH reported Friday. Those rates were 85.4% and 77.4% for those age 12 and older, 86.7% and 78.5% for people age 18 and older and 95% and 89.8% for those 65 and older.

Surrounding counties also were at the “low” community level as of Friday, according to the CDC. Across Illinois, three counties show “high” community spread, down from 20 last week, while 33 counties were at the “medium” level.

The rate of new COVID-19 cases among newborns to 17-year-old children decreased in McHenry County over the past week, according to IDPH data.

The rate of cases among newborns to 4-year-olds in McHenry County was at 1.6 new cases a day, down from 2.9, according to the seven-day rolling average.

Cases among children ages 5 to 11 decreased to 1.3 new cases each day from 1.9 the week before, and among 12- to 17-year-olds, the case rate fell to two new cases each day, compared with 2.6 the week before.

Countywide COVID-19 hospital admissions increased to four new patients a day as of Tuesday, up from three a week earlier, according to the seven-day rolling averages reported by the IDPH.

Hospital ICU availability across McHenry and Lake counties was at 19% as of Thursday, down from 24% the previous week and continuing a steady decline since the beginning of September, according to the seven-day average reported by the IDPH.

Across Illinois, the number of new hospital admissions tied to COVID-19 was 98 daily as of Tuesday, down from 112 the week before, according to the seven-day rolling daily average reported by the IDPH. Of the 1,069 people hospitalized for COVID-19, 147 were in the ICU and 40 were on ventilators as of Thursday.

Illinois’ daily case rate stood at 19.5 new cases per 100,000 people, according to the seven-day rolling average reported Friday, with 62 deaths reported in the past week, down from the previous week’s 74 deaths.

In neighboring Lake County, the health department reported a total of 160,712 cases and 1,447 deaths through Thursday. To the south, Kane County has seen 153,539 cases and 1,168 deaths as of Friday, according to its health department.

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 15,012 confirmed, according to county data. McHenry (60050) follows with 10,344.

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) 9,470 cases; Lake in the Hills (60156) 8,949; Huntley (60142) 7,313; Cary (60013) 6,899; Algonquin (60102) 6,508; Johnsburg and McHenry (60051) 5,514; Harvard (60033) 4,183; Crystal Lake, Bull Valley and Prairie Grove (60012) 3,281; Marengo (60152) 3,162; Wonder Lake (60097) 3,148; Spring Grove (60081) 1,849; Fox River Grove (60021) 1,372; Island Lake (60042) 1,188; Richmond (60071) 895; Hebron (60034) 493; Barrington (60010) 426; Union (60180) 347; and Ringwood and Wonder Lake (60072) 234.