According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, 15 counties in Illinois, including several in the Chicago area, transitioned to “high community levels” of the virus just before the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
The designation comes from guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Another 30 counties in Illinois are also classified as “intermediate community level,” according to the CDC.
“With 15 counties in Illinois now being ranked at a high municipal level, everyone in the state should be following health officials closely and taking steps to protect themselves, loved ones and friends,” Amaal Tokars, acting director of IDPH, said in a statement.
According to the CDC’s latest data, six Illinois counties within NBC 5’s view are among those at that “high community level” due to escalating case and hospital numbers.
That includes Cook County, which is averaging more than 320 new COVID cases per week per 100,000 people and nearly 11 new COVID admissions per 100,000 people.
McHenry, Lake, DuPage, Grundy and Will counties are also at “high community levels” of the virus, with the CDC recommending that residents wear masks indoors regardless of vaccination status.
The remaining counties include: Boone, Lee, and Winnebago in northern Illinois, and Fulton, Knox, Henderson, Mason, Peoria, and Tazewell in central Illinois.
But as hospital admissions increase in most of the state’s communities, cases are starting to fall. In fact, every county in the Chicago area saw a decline in the weekly number of COVID cases per 100,000 people, including Kankakee County, which fell below 200 weekly cases per 100,000 people.
This has reverted Kankakee County back to the “low community level” of COVID under CDC guidelines.
Under new guidelines released by the CDC, a county is considered to have a “high community level” of COVID when its average number of weekly cases per 100,000 population rises above 200 and when there are either an average of 10 weekly COVID hospitalizations or when 10% or more its hospital beds are occupied by COVID patients.
Here are the numbers by county in the Chicago area (community levels of COVID in parentheses):
Cook County (high) –
Weekly case rate per 100,000 population: 323.77 (up from 367.34 last week)
New weekly COVID hospital admissions per 100,000 population: 10.9 (up from 9.8 last week)
Percentage of staffed beds used by COVID patients: 3.5% (up from 3% last week)
DeKalb County (medium) –
Weekly case rate per 100,000 population: 292.67 (of 406.11)
New weekly COVID hospitalizations per 100,000 population: 6.9 (vs. 8.1)
Percentage of staffed beds used by COVID patients: 3.3% (vs. 2.7%)
DuPage County (high) –
Weekly fall rate per 100,000 population: 341.96 (of 439.91)
New weekly COVID hospital admissions per 100,000 population: 10.9 (down from 9.8)
Percentage of staffed beds used by COVID patients: 3.5% (previously 3%)
Grundy County (high) –
Weekly case rate per 100,000 population: 217.42 (same as last week)
New weekly COVID hospital admissions per 100,000 population: 11.1 (down from 7.8)
Percentage of staffed beds used by COVID patients: 5.1% (from 3.5%)
Kane County (medium) –
Weekly fall rate per 100,000 population: 270.28 (of 322.12)
New weekly COVID hospitalizations per 100,000 population: 6.9 (vs. 8.1)
Percentage of staffed beds used by COVID patients: 3.3% (vs. 2.7%)
Kankakee County (low) –
Weekly case rate per 100,000 population: 198.43 (out of 222.1)
New weekly COVID hospitalizations per 100,000 population: 7.3 (vs. 8.8)
Percentage of staffed beds used by COVID patients: 3% (from 2.9%)
Kendall County (medium) –
Weekly fall rate per 100,000 population: 337.24 (out of 446.55)
New weekly COVID hospitalizations per 100,000 population: 6.9 (vs. 8.1)
Percentage of staffed beds used by COVID patients: 3.3% (vs. 2.7%)
Lake County (high) –
Weekly fall rate per 100,000 population: 345.42 (of 424.53)
New weekly COVID hospital admissions per 100,000 population: 10.9 (down from 9.8)
Percentage of staffed beds used by COVID patients: 3.5% (previously 3%)
LaSalle County (intermediate) –
Weekly fall rate per 100,000 population: 242.94 (of 315.64)
New weekly COVID hospitalizations per 100,000 population: 7.1 (same as last week)
Percentage of staffed beds used by COVID patients: 2.2% (up from 2.8%)
McHenry County (high) –
Weekly case rate per 100,000 population: 277.48 (down from 359.03)
New weekly COVID hospital admissions per 100,000 population: 10.9 (down from 9.8)
Percentage of staffed beds used by COVID patients: 3.5% (previously 3%)
Will County (high) –
Weekly case rate per 100,000 population: 289.11 (of 366.71)
New weekly COVID hospital admissions per 100,000 population: 11.1 (down from 7.8)
Percentage of staffed beds used by COVID patients: 5.1% (from 3.5%)
