Grundy County provides COVID-19 update

MORRIS – The Grundy County Health Department provided information Friday in a news release about vaccination, cases, mitigation and testing.

Vaccination (as of Jan. 21)

Total number of doses received in Grundy: 2,240

Total number of doses administered: 1,652

Residents are advised that the health department does not distinguish between first and second doses when reporting the total number of doses administered.

Grundy County is near completion of vaccinating individuals eligible in Phase 1a and will transition to Phase 1b this coming weekend. Phase 1b includes people who are 65 or older and essential front-line workers, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the Illinois Department of Public Health. Visit dph.illinois.gov for information about eligibility.

Anyone eligible under Phases 1a or 1b who lives or works in Grundy County and is interested in getting vaccinated may visit www.grundyhealth.com to complete an interest survey. Mass administration clinics are being planned in the coming weeks, and survey responses will aid in the health department’s planning efforts.

Residents should not expect to hear from the health department immediately after completing the survey, and there is no need to call to confirm that their survey response was received. As vaccine doses become available, health department staff will reach out via email or phone to schedule an appointment. Residents are advised that there is more demand for than supply of vaccine, and it may take several months for everyone eligible in Phase 1b to be vaccinated.

Vaccination efforts at long-term care facilities in Grundy County began the week of Jan. 11. Each of the five facilities in Grundy has enrolled in a federal program to contract with a pharmacy for administration to staff and residents.

The health department asks for the patience of the community as we work through the phases. There are more questions than there are answers, and it may take a very long time for us to return your phone call.

The best way to obtain current information is to visit www.grundyhealth.com or the health department’s Facebook page.

Cases

The total number of positive cases in Grundy County, as processed by the health department, is 3,836, and 39 residents have died from COVID-19 complications: three males in their 60s, six males in their 70s, four females in their 70s, eight males in their 80s, 11 females in their 80s, three males in their 90s, three females in their 90s and one female older than 100.

The Grundy County Health Department currently is following 249 people who have tested positive and are in isolation, along with each of their close contacts.

Mitigation

Region: Region 2, which includes Grundy County, currently is in Tier 1 mitigation. The region will remain in this tier until the metrics to move to Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois plan have been met. These metrics include a test positivity rate of less than 6.5% (calculated on a seven-day rolling average) for three consecutive days; intensive care unit bed availability greater than 20%; and no sustained increase in COVID-19 patients in the hospital (on a seven-day rolling average) in seven out of the past 10 days.

Details about each phase and metrics for moving between them can be found at dph.illinois.gov.

This data, published Friday by the Grundy County Health Department and made available through the IDPH, for Region 2 shows that the region currently is meeting all metrics.

County

Grundy County remains at an “orange” warning level this week, according to the IDPH. Orange, a reference to the colors used to denote COVID-19 activity within counties on the IDPH’s map of the state, indicates that there are warning signs of increased COVID-19 risk in the community. The IDPH uses numerous indicators when determining if a county is experiencing stable or increasing COVID-19 activity. Below are the updated metrics for Grundy County:

• New cases per 100,000 people: If there are more than 50 new cases per 100,000 people in the county, a warning is triggered. In the past week, there were 337 new cases per 100,000 people in Grundy County, down from 420 the previous week.

• Number of deaths: This metric indicates a warning when the weekly number of deaths increases by more than 20% for two consecutive weeks. In the past week, there were no deaths in Grundy County, down from five the previous week.

• Weekly test positivity: This metric indicates a warning when the seven-day test positivity rate rises above 8%. In the past week, the positivity rate in Grundy County was 10.4%, down from 13.3% the previous week.

• Tests performed: This metric is used to provide context and indicate if more testing is needed in the county. In the past week, 1,912 tests were performed in Grundy County, up from 1,741 the previous week.

• Weekly emergency department visits: This metric indicates a warning when the weekly percent of emergency department visits for COVID-19-like illness increases by more than 20% for two consecutive weeks. In the past week, 4.4% of the emergency department visits in Grundy County were for COVID-19-like illness, down from 8.2% the previous week.

• Weekly hospital admissions: A warning is triggered when the weekly number of hospital admissions for COVID-19-like illness increases by more than 20% for two consecutive weeks. In the past week, there were fewer than five hospital admissions for COVID-19-like illness, down from eight the previous week.

• Clusters: This metric looks at the percent of COVID-19 cases associated with clusters or outbreaks and is used to understand large increases in cases. In the past week, 2.9% of the cases in Grundy County was associated with a cluster, up from zero percent of cases the previous week.

• ICU bed availability: A warning is triggered if fewer than 20% of ICU beds are available in the region. In the past week, 24% of Grundy County’s ICU beds were available, up from 23% the previous week.

Testing

Testing is available throughout the county through local hospital systems, and protocol at each location is subject to change based on availability of resources. Mobile testing units organized by the IDPH also are available throughout the region. Residents seeking testing may consider visiting the dph.illinois.gov to learn about mobile and community-based testing sites throughout Illinois.