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Coronavirus

Two more DeKalb County residents dead from COVID-19, death toll rises to 191

Syringes filled with the COVID-19 vaccine wait to be administered during a clinic at the Convocation Center at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb.

DeKALB – Two more DeKalb County residents died from COVID-19 as of Thursday, bringing the total death toll to 191, according to state data.

Reported COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, however, continue to be the lowest they’ve been for months in DeKalb County, according to state health officials.

The county reported 11 more COVID-19 cases Thursday, bringing the total case count to 23,021. Case data doesn’t include positive cases identified through at-home virus testing and might not include test results waiting to be reported from backlogged laboratories.

An additional 24 DeKalb County residents became fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health, and 37 more booster shots were administered in the county on Thursday.

[ Think you have COVID-19? Here’s when to test, how to isolate and what you should know ]

Hospitalizations and positivity rate

As of Thursday, there were 20 intensive care unit beds available in Region 1, according to state data.

The seven-day rolling positivity rate for the region, which runs north to Rockford and west to the Iowa border, is 2.9%. The DeKalb County positivity rate is at 2.4%. Positivity rates are reported with a three-day data lag. Region 1 also reported a seven-day average of 58 COVID-19 patients hospitalized.

According to the IDPH, 145,838 total vaccine doses have been administered to DeKalb County residents and 57,887 residents – 57.6% of the county’s population of 100,420, according to 2020 U.S. Census Bureau data – have been fully vaccinated. As of Thursday, 28,892 booster shots had been administered to county residents. The seven-day rolling average of doses administered to county residents is 79.

The IDPH reported that 3,035,870 Illinoisans have tested positive for COVID-19, while 32,886 have died statewide. The department reported that at least 54,954,495 tests have been administered to date. That does not include self tests administered at home.

Katie Finlon

Katie Finlon

Katie Finlon covers local government and breaking news for DeKalb County in Illinois. She has covered local government news for Shaw Media since 2018 and has had bylines in Daily Chronicle, Kendall County Record newspapers, Northwest Herald and in public radio over the years.