McHenry County reports 2 more COVID-19 deaths as spread remains low

For 13 straight weeks, McHenry County’s COVID-19 transmission levels have remained “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.

No Illinois counties were considered at a “high” level of transmission, and two 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 99,370 total COVID-19 cases, including 584 deaths in which COVID-19 was either confirmed or a likely case, the McHenry County Department of Health reported. Two deaths were added to the total this week.

The county saw 35.6 new cases per 100,000 residents over the past seven days as of Sunday, according to the IDPH. That was down from the week before, when the case rate was at 50.6.

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

Hospital intensive care unit availability across McHenry and Lake counties was 30% as of Thursday, up 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 55 each day as of Tuesday, according to the seven-day rolling daily average the IDPH reported.

Of the 558 people hospitalized with COVID-19 statewide, 65 were in the ICU and 22 were on ventilators as of Thursday.

Illinois’ weekly case rate stood at 41.4 new cases per 100,000 people, according to the seven-day rolling average reported Sunday. The state saw nine deaths in the past week.

In neighboring Lake County, the health department reported a total of 178,902 cases and 1,536 deaths through Thursday. To the south, Kane County had seen 163,007 cases and 1,221 deaths as of March 24, according to its health department.