On Tuesday, 80 more DeKalb County residents were reported positive for the novel coronavirus, as the total case count to date rose to 4,788 according to the DeKalb County Health Department.
Cases in DeKalb County have risen exponentially over the past few months, with new monthly data by the health department showing there were 522 cases in September and twice that amount, 1,046 cases in October.
There have been 2,061 cases reported in November alone, compared to 2,727 total cases reported in all the other months of the pandemic combined (March through October).
In the first virus wave in the spring, local cases peaked at 327 in May. Now, the cases continue to surge with no peak yet identified.
The seven-day rolling positivity rate in the county dropped to 12.1%, according to data from the Illinois Department of Public Health. The positivity rate for Region 1, which includes DeKalb, dropped to 16.3%. In order for the region to move back to Tier 2 mitigations -- with no restrictions on retail, gyms, casinos, gaming facilities, etc. -- the region needs to report three consecutive days of the regional positivty rate under 12%. In order to lift restrictions on bars and restaurants, the region's rates need to be below 8%. Region 1's seven-day rate has not dropped below 8% since mitigations first went into effect Oct. 3.
One case Tuesday was linked to a long-term care facility: Heritage Woods, which reported one additional case in an employee.
Of the new cases Tuesday, 14 were in residents 19 or younger, 18 in their 20s, 12 in their 30s, five in their 40s, 14 in their 50s, 16 in their 60s, six in their 70s and one 80 or older.
No new deaths were reported Tuesday, and the COVID-19 death toll in the county remained at 45.
By the numbers
To date, there are nine long-term care facilities in outbreak mode in DeKalb County.
Lincolnshire Place in Sycamore reports 15 cases (six in staff, nine in residents). DeKalb County Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in DeKalb reports 24 cases (23 in staff, one in a resident), Oak Crest-DeKalb Area Retirement Center in DeKalb reports 44 cases (20 in staff, 24 in residents with one death), Bethany Rehabilitation and Health Care Center in DeKalb reports 24 cases (21 in staff, three in residents), Pine Acres Rehabilitation and Living Center reports two cases (one each in a resident and employee), Prairie Crossing Living and Rehabilitation Center in Shabbona reports five cases (four in staff, one in a resident), and Heritage Woods in DeKalb reports seven cases (five in staff, two in residents).
In total, there are 805 cases in DeKalb County residents 19 or younger, 1,178 in their 20s, 680 in their 30s, 702 in their 40s, 638 in their 50s, 392 in their 60s, 215 in their 70s and 178 in their 80s or older.
To date, there have been 26 deaths reported in DeKalb County residents in their 80s, six in their 70s, five in their 60s, four in their 50s, two in their 40s, one in their 30s and an infant.
According to county data, the city of DeKalb reports between 2,141 and 2,145 cases. There are between 961 and 965 cases in Sycamore, 411 to 415 in Sandwich and Plano (listed as one region on the site), 406 and 410 cases in Genoa, 231 and 235 cases in Cortland, 121 and 125 cases in Kirkland, 116 and 120 in Kingston, 106 and 110 cases in Hinckley, 66 and 70 in Malta and Somonauk, 46 and 50 in Waterman, 31 and 35 in Shabbona and Maple Park, 11 and 15 in Clare and six and 10 in Esmond and Earlville. Lee, Leland and Marengo each report between one and five cases.
The DeKalb County website lists residents that only live within the county lines for a municipality, while the IDPH website lists everyone within a certain ZIP code. Numbers also may vary because of data lags.
The 60115 ZIP code, including DeKalb, had 2,071 cases reported and 31,572 tests administered (a positivity rate of 6.5%); the 60178 ZIP code, including Sycamore, had 976 cases and 11,577 tests (8.4%); the 60548 ZIP code, including Sandwich, had 609 cases and 7,114 tests (8.5%); the 60111 ZIP code, including Clare, reported 15 cases and 145 tests (10.3%); the 60112 ZIP code, including Cortland, had 229 cases and 2,490 tests (9.1%); the 60135 ZIP code, including Genoa, had 396 cases and 3,750 tests (10.5%); the 60145 ZIP code, including Kingston, had 113 cases and 1,019 tests (11%); the 60146 ZIP code, including Kirkland, had 136 cases and 1,431 tests (9.5%); the 60520 ZIP code, including Hinckley, had 104 cases and 1,300 tests (8%); the 60550 ZIP code, including Shabbona, had 35 cases and 840 tests (4.1%); the 60150 ZIP code, including Malta, had 59 cases and 826 tests (7.1%); the 60151 ZIP code, including parts of Maple Park in both DeKalb and Kane counties, had 164 cases and 1,853 tests (8.8%); the 60556 ZIP code, including Waterman, had 47 cases and 734 tests (6.4%).
The IDPH reported 674,089 people in Illinois have tested positive for COVID-19 to date, while 11,677 people have died statewide. There have been 9,990,304 tests performed.
The entire state moved to Tier 3 mitigation measures Nov. 20 to help stop the spread of COVID-19, including a continued prohibition on indoor dining at bars and restaurants, closures of gaming facilities and casinos and capping all gatherings to 10 or fewer, with officials urging residents to stay at home unless necessary and avoid holiday travel or family gatherings. DeKalb County’s health region has been under enhanced mitigations since Oct. 3. Under the new restrictions, each of the 11 health care regions can independently have restrictions eased if metrics improve.