Doctor: Younger people driving up COVID-19 numbers in Kane County

COVID-19 cases are continuing to rise in Kane County, as they are across the state of Illinois, and one local doctor says that health officials can't pinpoint one specific cause for the increase, which is higher amoung younger folks.

Dr. Brian Poustinchian, hospitalist at Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital, said that one factor could be that after the shutdown this spring, people are going back to their normal habits.

"As we kind of opened things back up and move into the next phase of reopening, there is more contact more potential for exposure," he said. "People aren't doing what they are supposed to do with regard to masks – some are wearing them below the nose or chin. We need to make sure we are doing what we're supposed to be doing 100% of the time."

Poustinchian also said that the positivity rate, which is the rate of confirmed positive tests vs. the total number of tests being conducted, is an important factor. As of Monday, Illinois' positivity rate was up to 4.0% from under 3% just a few weeks ago.

"The 20-59 age category seems to be the age group with an increasing number of cases," he said. "COVID-19 is more contagious than a typical flu or common cold virus, and that's why masking is so important."

Poustinchian explained that while older people tend to have more severe cases, young people can get very sick from the virus.

"Some young patients don't get very sick, but they are carriers, and that is why the virus is being transmitted," he said.

It's not all bad news as the pandemic wears on, as doctors are learning more about COVID-19 every day.

"We're learning how to treat it, and we've gotten a lot better at treating patients with COVID-19," he said.