Coronavirus In Algonquin, LITH: Labor Day Gatherings Pose Risk

ALGONQUIN AND LAKE IN THE HILLS, IL — As we head into the Labor Day weekend, health officials across the state are continuing to remind Illinoisans to make smart decisions to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. As of Thursday, there have been 115 confirmed deaths due to COVID-19 and more than 3,900 across McHenry County have tested positive for the virus, according to county health data.

In recent weeks, the state has seen a significant amount of community spread of the virus that has been linked back to social gatherings, including family and friends gatherings over the holidays, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said during a press briefing on Wednesday. And he reminded residents to be cautious, to wear their masks, practice social distancing and wash their hands regularly as we head into the Labor Day weekend.

"I am very concerned as I was over the Fourth of July weekend, that people will be gathering. Picnics, backyard barbecues gatherings, we know that much of the spread that is occurring in Illinois is happening in these settings," Pritzker said Wednesday. "They are not public settings, they are often private settings. And people often let down their guard thinking I'm at home or I'm at someone's home."

"But the reality is that you don't know where everyone who is there has been and unless you maintain social distance and are mindful about wearing masks the reality is there can be and has been a significant amount of community spread as a result of those kinds of gatherings," Pritzker said.

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During the press briefing on Wednesday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker reminded residents that people continue to die from the virus —8,115 across the state as of Thursday — and thousands who do recover still suffer from life-threatening pulmonary and cardiac symptom. As of Thursday, there had been more than 240,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 statewide to date.

In recent days, nine of 11 regions, including Region 9 that includes McHenry and Lake counties, has seen positivity rates creep upward, Pritzker added during Wednesday's press briefing.

"If data shows the virus is spreading at a high rate, we won't hesitate to take action to protect the people of Illinois," Pritzker said. So far, increased restrictions have been put in place in two regions, including the region that includes Will and Kankakee counties.

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In McHenry County, the health department tracks the number of coronavirus cases by zip code. The 60014 zip code has seen 586 confirmed cases to date, 60012 has seen 138 cases, 60156 has 346 cases and 60013 has seen 256 cases, according to health data. More data can be found on the McHenry County Department of Health website.

As a way to help residents make smart decision regarding socializing, the state has created a color-coded map showing counties that are overall stable with COVID-19 metrics and ones where there are waning signs of COVID-19 risk.

With Labor Day gatherings planned across the Chicago area, the map could help residents determine what type of events or activities they'd like to do, and where they might want to avoid.

The metrics are also meant to be used for local level awareness of each county’s progress during Phase 4 and will help local leaders, businesses, local health departments, and the public make informed decisions and promote healthy behaviors, according to the IDPH.

And while McHenry County has remained below the state's "warning" level regarding the overall "health burden" COVID-19 is causing in the county, which is determined by eight different metrics, it did hit the warning level on one of the metric. That metric, which looks at the number of new cases per 100,000 reached 62 on the week of Aug. 16 through Aug. 22, according to health data released last week.

The target for a county is to be below 50 cases. The county was listed as on target on all other seven metrics, including the percent of positive rates, which was 6.2 percent; number of deaths, 0; tests performed, 4,236; hospital admission for COVID-19-like symptoms, 14; and ICU bed availability, 31.7 percent, according to state health data, which is tracked Saturday through Sunday of each previous week and updated weekly.

This past week, Pritzker announced new restrictions on the Metro East region that suspend indoor service at bars and restaurants and limit gatherings to a maximum of 25 people because their positivity rates have continued to exceed 8 percent. The new measures bring the area, Region 4 in the governor's coronavirus resurgence mitigation plan, into line with the rules imposed on Will and Kankakee counties, or Region 7, last week.

Region 9, which includes Lake and McHenry counties, has not yet met state-mandated levels where new restrictions have been imposed. As of Aug. 31, the region has seen five days of positivity increases and a current positivity rate of 6.4 percent.

If a region surpasses 8 percent for its positivity rate for three or more days, the state can impose new restrictions.

Another trigger for new mitigation measures is a combination of seven days of increasing positivity and insufficient hospital capacity — as measured by less than 20 percent of beds available— or an increase in the rounded rolling average of daily new hospital admissions with "COVID-like illnesses," or CLI, for seven of the previous 10 days.

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