November 30, 2024
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COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations back on the rise in Will County

COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are still far off from where the numbers were last year before vaccines were widely available in Will County

By Alex Ortiz
will county, covid-19, joliet, will county courthouse

A sign posted on the Will County Courthouse in downtown Joliet tells visitors face masks are required to enter the building. (Alex Ortiz)

New COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are back on the upswing in the Will County region, according to the latest public health data.

The Illinois Department of Public Health reported that as of Tuesday, the county’s rolling average COVID-19 test positivity rate was 3.6%. That’s an increase from Oct. 30, when the test positivity rate was still 2.8%.

As of Thursday, there were 78 COVID-19 patients in the hospital in the South Suburban Region, which includes Will and Kankakee counties. There were only 55 patients in the region’s hospitals less than two weeks ago.

AMITA Health Saint Joseph Medical Center Joliet

AMITA Health Saint Joseph Medical Center Joliet (Alex Ortiz)

On Friday, the IDPH also reported one outbreak among a cheerleading squad in Frankfort where 16 students tested positive for COVID-19. The agency reports outbreaks in schools among students and staff by county each week.

Despite the recent increase in cases and hospitalizations, the data points look sharply different from where they were last year before any vaccines were available to the public.

During the first two weeks of November of 2020, the county’s test positivity rate was surging near 20%, an all-time high. Hospitalizations for COVID-19 in the region peaked in late November of last year when over 370 patients were treated for COVID-19.

Since then, over 430,000 Will County residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, which represents about 63.2% of the county’s nearly 700,000 residents.

About 57.8% of the county’s population is fully vaccinated, according to the IDPH. That’s about on pace with Illinois as a whole since 57% of the state’s 12.7 million residents are fully vaccinated.

A patient receives their first round of the COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, Feb. 1, 2021, at Joliet West High Schoool in Joliet, Ill. Starting today, the Joliet West High School field house is serving as a vaccination center for those who qualify for Phase 1B of the vaccine rollout. (Geoff Stellfox - gstellfox@shawmedia.com/Geoff Stellfox - gstellfox@shawmedia.com)

Since federal regulators gave the go-ahead for booster shots to be administered for some people and a vaccine was approved for children ages 5 through 11, vaccinations have also increased in Will County.

Nearly 3,000 shots are being administered every day in the county, the IDPH reported.

The Will County Health Department announced several vaccine clinics aimed at children ages 5 to 11 at various schools across the county this month.

For more information on how to get a COVID-19 vaccination, visit willcountyhealth.org.

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