According to the newest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, COVID cases and hospitalizations are threatening to push several Chicago-area counties, including Cook County, into the highest-level of COVID alert in coming weeks.
In that situation, there are two metric thresholds that can be hit that would push those counties into a “high community level” of COVID. One is if the county is seeing 10 or more weekly hospital admissions per 100,000 residents, or if it is seeing 10% or more of its hospital beds occupied by COVID Patients.
The CDC puts together its hospitalization data based not just on the county that a hospital is in, but on what other counties are potentially serviced by that hospital.ascending to the “high community level” of COVID . Those four counties combined are seeing 9.8 new weekly hospital admissions per 100,000 residents, according to CDC data. In Kankakee County, that number currently stands at 8.8 new admissions per 100,000 residents, while in DeKalb, Kane and Kendall counties, the number has risen to 8.1 new admissions. As a result, those eight counties could soon join the eight other Illinois counties that have already hit a “high community level” of the virus.Here’s What the CDC Recommends for ‘High Community Level’ Areastheir area hits that “high community level” threshold? For starters, the CDC recommends that all residents in those counties, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks while in indoor spaces. Residents who are immunocompromised, or those who live with residents who are, are encouraged to consider taking additional steps to protect themselves and their loved ones, including “avoiding non-essential indoor activities.” It is also recommended that those residents talk to their health care providers about additional preventative steps, or to ask if they are eligible for COVID antivirals or monoclonal antibodies in the event of a COVID infection. As Chicago moves from ‘low’ to ‘medium’ COVID risk level, Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, shared her recommendations regarding indoor masking and dining at restaurants and bars.At the state level, it does not appear that a county moving to the “high community level” category would see a mask mandate returned. While the return of a mandate was not ruled out by Chicago health officials, Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said she's watching a different metric to determine if mandates will return. "While our hospital numbers remain as good as they are, we'd have to see twice as many Chicagoans getting hospitalized to need to be thinking about mandates," she said. CDPH said even if the region reaches a higher alert level,"the city of Chicago would not immediately reinstate an indoor mask mandate, because severe outcomes in Chicago remain relatively rare and the burden of COVID-19 in our local hospitals remains low." While Cook County is seeing a rapid increase in the number of COVID hospitalizations, its percentage of staffed beds currently in use by COVID patients remains well-below the “high” threshold, currently sitting at 3%. In the city of Chicago itself, the weekly hospitalization rate per 100,000 residents currently sits at 6.3, well-below the level experienced by the rest of the county.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
As U.S. COVID-19 cases rise, so does demand for antiviralsRising COVID-19 cases are driving up the use of therapeutics, with Pfizer Inc's oral antiviral treatment Paxlovid seeing a 315% jump over the past four weeks, U.S. health officials said on Tuesday.
Read more »
Covid Cases Are Rising — But Cities So Far Aren’t Reimposing Mask MandatesMayors in New York City and Boston are the latest officials to resist requiring masks, even as they recommend people wear them.
Read more »
North Korea reports another jump in suspected COVID-19 casesThe country's anti-virus headquarters said 62 people have died and more than 1.7 million have fallen ill amid a rapid spread of fever since late April.
Read more »
'I'm concerned': Chicago could soon reach 'high' COVID level, city's top doc saysThe Chicago area could soon move into the “high” level of COVID-19 transmission, according to a new warning Tuesday from city health officials.
Read more »
EXCLUSIVE: CA's chief epidemiologist explains why Bay Area is state's COVID hotspotAccording to CDC data, the eye of the storm in California is in the Bay Area. Santa Cruz, San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin are some of the counties with the highest COVID case rates in the entire state.
Read more »
Warriors begin Western Conference Finals amid rising COVID-19 cases in Bay AreaAs the Warriors have been making a run in the NBA playoffs, COVID-19 has been making a run in the Bay Area.
Read more »