La Salle County finishes month with most COVID-19 cases since January

September concluded in La Salle County with the most COVID-19 cases since January.

The county’s health department said there were 149 new COVID-19 cases since Sept. 24 — which is down 48 cases from the previous week. In the month, there were 934 confirmed cases — which is up from 738 cases in August and 504 from September 2020. It is the most cases reported in a single month in La Salle County since there were 1,682 confirmed in January.

A La Salle County woman in her 60s died from complications related to COVID-19. Her death is the 13th COVID-related death in the county, which matches the number of deaths last month and is up by four from September 2020.

There were 241 residents removed from isolation in the past week after receiving positive COVID-19 confirmations.

Making up the new cases this week are 10 boys younger than 13, six girls younger than 13, five teenage boys, 16 teenage girls, 12 men in their 20s, 10 women in their 20s, eight men in their 30s, 12 women in their 30s, nine men in their 40s, 14 women in their 40s, seven men in their 50s, 13 women in their 50s, six men in their 60s, six women in their 60s, two men in their 70s, four women in their 70s, two men in their 80s, four women in their 80s, a man in his 90s and two women in their 90s.

By ZIP code, there are 30 new cases in Ottawa, 22 in Streator, 19 in La Salle, 17 in Peru, 16 in Marseilles, 14 in Sandwich, five in Oglesby, four in Mendota, four in Leland, four in Sheridan, three in Serena, three in Tonica, two in Seneca, two in Earlville, two in Somonauk, one in Utica and one in Grand Ridge.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data tracker (https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view), La Salle County is experiencing high community transmission based on the seven-day moving average of cases per 100,000 (142.63 per 100,000) of COVID-19, as of Thursday. The rate is down from 238 per 100,000 a week ago.

In addition, within the county’s health region, which includes several other counties, there are 19.2% of ICU beds available, which is below the 20% target. In the past week, La Salle County has had 11 new hospital admissions for COVID-19.

Until La Salle County can get a handle on the number of new cases being identified each week and slow the spread occurring, La Salle County will continue to be at risk for remaining at the state’s warning level. This status, also known as “orange,” indicates there are warning signs of increased COVID-19 risk in the county. A warning level means a county saw increases in two or more COVID-19 risk indicators.

There are 54,239 La Salle County residents fully-vaccinated, which is 49.65% of the county’s population. That is an increase of 419 residents from the previous week.

“Vaccination is one of the most important tools we have available to us,” the health department said. “It has never been easier to get vaccinated for COVID-19. There are many options available in our community.”

Go to https://www.vaccines.gov/ to search for information on how to get a vaccine. The La Salle County Health Department has COVID -19 vaccine available at the health department on Etna Road in Ottawa by appointment only, Monday through Friday. The health department has Johnson and Johnson, Moderna and Pfizer available. Residents who still need to be vaccinated should call the health department at 815-433-3366 to make an appointment.