DeKalb County COVID-19 update: 29 more virus cases, 72 more residents fully vaccinated Wednesday

DeKALB – Health officials added 72 more residents to DeKalb County’s fully vaccinated total, while 29 new virus cases from over the weekend were reported Wednesday.

The new cases bring the total virus case count to 11,964, according to the DeKalb County Health Department.

The update comes after a DeKalb County resident in their 60s was reported dead Tuesday, marking 127 COVID-19 related deaths in the county since the pandemic began, according to county health department officials.

Melissa Edwards, spokeswoman for the DeKalb County Health Department, clarified Wednesday there was one new COVID-19 related death recorded Tuesday, as opposed to the two that the department’s website originally reported. She further confirmed there were 127 total deaths and not 128.

“When we were having an issue with our website, we believe that is when the person from Monday was counted twice in our data dashboard,” Edwards wrote in a Wednesday email.

The seven-day rolling positivity rate for Region 1, which runs north to Rockford and west to the Iowa border, is 5.1%. The DeKalb County positivity rate is at 4.9%. Positivity rates are reported with a three-day data lag. Region 1 also reported a seven-day average of 108 COVID-19 patients hospitalized.

[ How vaccinated is DeKalb County? New zip code data breaks it down. ]

According to Illinois Department of Public Health data, 100,570 total vaccine doses have been administered to DeKalb County residents, and 49,765 residents – or 49.5% of the county’s population of 100,420, according to 2020 U.S. Census Bureau data – have been fully vaccinated.

The seven-day rolling average of doses administered to county residents is at 123, with 2,004 doses of total reported inventory – 1,192 at the health department and 812 at community partners, according to state numbers. The inventory numbers are according to state health officials and might differ from local numbers, DeKalb County health officials said.

[ As local vaccine demand drops, health department shifts gears ]

By the numbers

Three local long-term care facilities are reporting COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday, including one new case among the DeKalb County Rehab and Nursing Center resident population.

DeKalb County Rehab and Nursing Center now reports an outbreak of five, including three employees and two residents.

Oak Crest DeKalb Area Retirement Center reports seven employees have contracted the virus as of Wednesday. Bethany Rehabilitation and Health Care Center still reports two employees with COVID-19.

[ Hesitant about your 2nd dose of COVID-19 vaccine? Here’s why local health officials say you still need it, how to manage fears ]

Updated vaccination by ZIP code data shows the percentages of residents in DeKalb County ZIP codes have been fully vaccinated as of Sept. 22. ZIP code population data used by the IDPH utilized unofficial 2018 census data, including those 12 and older, according to IDPH spokesperson Melaney Arnold.

This data is provisional and will be updated every Wednesday, according to IDPH:

In the 60111 (includes Clare) ZIP code, 90% of the population is fully vaccinated. In the 60112 (Cortland) ZIP code, 52.3% is fully vaccinated. In the 60115 (DeKalb) ZIP code, 43.8% is fully vaccinated. In 60135 (Genoa), it’s 53.17%. In 60145 (Kingston), 39.39% is fully vaccinated. In 60146 (Kirkland, Fairdale), 39.21% is fully vaccinated. In 60150 (Malta), 46.69% is fully vaccinated. In 60151 (Maple Park), 51.09% is fully vaccinated. In 60178 (Sycamore), 56.94% is fully vaccinated. In 60520 (Hinckley), 48.26% is fully vaccinated. In 60548 (Sandwich), 47.65% is fully vaccinated; in 60550 (Shabbona), 44.5% is fully vaccinated; in 60552 (Somonauk), 45.13% is fully vaccinated; and in 60556 (Waterman), 46.77% is fully vaccinated.

Of the new cases reported Wednesday, there were 12 in residents age 19 or younger, four in their 20s, two in their 30s, four in their 40s, two in their 50s, four in their 60s and one in their 80s or older.

In total, there have been 2,312 cases in residents age 19 or younger, 2,891 in their 20s, 1,818 in their 30s, 1,589 in their 40s, 1,427 in their 50s, 985 in their 60s, 503 in their 70s and 439 in their 80s or older.

Of the 127 deaths reported in DeKalb County, 73 were in residents in their 80s or older, 20 were in their 70s, 20 in their 60s, eight in their 50s, three in their 40s, one in their 30s, one in their 20s and one infant.

According to DeKalb County data most recently updated Tuesday, there have been between 5,276 and 5,280 cases in DeKalb, 2,356 and 2,360 cases in Sycamore, 1,031 and 1,035 in Sandwich and Plano (listed as one region on the site), 926 and 930 in Genoa, 266 and 270 cases in Kingston, 561 and 565 cases in Cortland, 296 and 300 cases in Hinckley, 271 and 275 in Kirkland, 246 and 250 cases in Somonauk, 166 and 170 in Waterman, 156 and 160 in Malta, 136 and 140 in Shabbona, 106 and 110 in Maple Park, 31 and 35 in Earlville, 26 and 30 in Clare, 11 and 15 in Leland, 16 to 20 in Esmond, and six and 10 in Lee. Hampshire, Marengo and Rochelle each reported between one and five cases.

The IDPH reported that 1,605,320 people in Illinois have tested positive for COVID-19, while 24,699 people have died statewide. The department reported that 30,912,653 tests have been administered to date.

According to testing and recovery data released by the county every Friday, 11,043 DeKalb County residents have fully recovered and 195,173 tests of county residents have been completed.