McHenry County drops into ‘low’ COVID-19 transmission rate for the first time since late November

For the first time since late November, McHenry County COVID-19 transmission levels moved to the “low” level under thresholds set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with five additional deaths reported.

The “low” level of community transmission means the county saw fewer than 200 cases per 100,000 residents over the past seven days; fewer than 10 new hospital admissions, also per 100,000 residents; and less than 15% of its staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients, according to the CDC.

No Illinois counties remained in the “high” transmission level as of this week.

As of Thursday, McHenry County had seen 97,218 total COVID-19 cases, including 571 deaths where COVID-19 was either confirmed or a likely case, the McHenry County Department of Health reported. No additional deaths were reported this week.

McHenry County Coroner, Dr. Michael Rein, released his own update for COVID-19 deaths this week. The coroner has disputed the number of county resident deaths as reported by the health department.

In a prepared release, Rein said there have been three confirmed resident deaths related to COVID-19 since the beginning of November 2022, with one death each in the months of November 2022, December 2022, and January 2023.

The county saw 75.7 new cases per 100,000 residents over the past seven days as of Sunday. That was down from 86.1 the week before, according to the CDC.

Countywide, COVID-19 hospital admissions totaled three new patients a day as of Friday, down from five at the last update, according to the seven-day rolling averages reported by the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Hospital intensive care unit availability across McHenry and Lake counties was 16% as of Friday, down from 22% at the last update, according to the seven-day average reported by the IDPH.

Across Illinois, the number of new hospital admissions tied to COVID-19 was 90 each day as of Friday, according to the seven-day rolling daily average reported by the IDPH.

Of the 999 people hospitalized with COVID-19 statewide, 117 were in the ICU and 45 were on ventilators as of Thursday.

Illinois’ weekly case rate stood at 86 new cases per 100,000 people, according to the seven-day rolling average reported Sunday. The state saw 86 deaths in the past week.

In neighboring Lake County, the health department reported a total of 174,031 cases and 1,514 deaths through Wednesday. To the south, Kane County had seen 162,448 cases and 1,201 deaths as of Jan. 20, according to its health department. The Kane County online dashboard had not been updated as of press time.