McHenry County COVID-19 cases, hospital admissions down to lowest levels since early April

The spread of COVID-19 in McHenry County remained at “low” for the fourth week in a row under thresholds set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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 91,802 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 87.74 new cases per 100,000 residents over the past seven days as of Sunday, down from 90.34 the week before, according to the incidence rate reported by the McHenry County Department of Health. Although the case rate has fluctuated slightly, it has been on an overall downward trend since reaching a two-month peak at 201 on Sept. 2.

All surrounding counties also were at the “low” community level, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. Across Illinois, no counties showed “high” community spread, while 16 counties were at the “medium” level, up from 14 last week.

Countywide COVID-19 hospital admissions decreased to two new patients a day as of Tuesday, down from three a week earlier, according to the seven-day rolling averages reported by the IDPH. The admission rate was down to one patient per day last weekend, the first time it was that low since April 9.

Hospital intensive care unit availability across McHenry and Lake counties was at 20% as of Thursday, down from 26% the previous week, according to the seven-day average reported by the IDPH.

Across Illinois, the number of new hospital admissions tied to COVID-19 was 62 daily as of Tuesday, down from 80 the week before, according to the seven-day rolling daily average reported by the IDPH.

Of the 991 people hospitalized with COVID-19 statewide, 112 were in the ICU and 39 were on ventilators as of Thursday.

Illinois’ daily case rate stood at 11.7 new cases per 100,000 people, according to the seven-day rolling average reported Friday, with 52 deaths reported in the past week.

In neighboring Lake County, the health department reported a total of 162,639 cases and 1,460 deaths through Thursday. To the south, Kane County has seen 154,730 cases and 1,172 deaths as of Wednesday, according to its health department.