McHenry County reports two new COVID-19 deaths as spread remains low

For eight straight weeks, McHenry County’s COVID-19 transmission levels stayed “low” 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 hospital admissions, also per 100,000 residents; and less than 15% of its staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients, according to the CDC.

One Illinois county was considered at a “high” level of transmission, and eight were at the “medium” level as of Tuesday, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. All counties neighboring McHenry County were low.

As of Thursday, McHenry County had seen 98,605 total COVID-19 cases, including 581 deaths in which COVID-19 was either confirmed or a likely case, the McHenry County Department of Health reported. Two additional deaths were added to the total this week.

The county saw 63.2 new cases per 100,000 residents over the past seven days as of Sunday, according to the IDPH. That was up from the week before, when the case rate was at 61.6.

Countywide, COVID-19 hospital admissions totaled two new patients a day as of Tuesday, down from three the week before, according to the seven-day rolling averages the IDPH reported.

Hospital intensive care unit availability across McHenry and Lake counties was 33% as of Thursday, improved from 29% last week, according to the seven-day average reported by the IDPH.

Across Illinois, the number of new hospital admissions tied to COVID-19 was 82 each day as of Tuesday, according to the seven-day rolling daily average the IDPH reported.

Of the 824 people hospitalized with COVID-19 statewide, 107 were in the ICU and 36 were on ventilators as of Thursday.

Illinois’ weekly case rate stood at 70.4 new cases per 100,000 people, according to the seven-day rolling average reported Sunday. The state saw 63 deaths in the past week.

In neighboring Lake County, the health department reported a total of 177,354 cases and 1,530 deaths through Thursday. To the south, Kane County had seen 162,954 cases and 1,220 deaths as of Friday, according to its health department.