According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 96 of Illinois’ 102 counties are currently experiencing either “substantial” or “high” levels of transmission of COVID-19, and one county in the Chicago metropolitan area now finds itself in the latter category as cases of the virus surge.
According to the CDC, Will County is now seeing more than 100 new cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 residents over the last seven days. The exact number is at 107.13 cases per 100,000 residents, meaning that it is in a growing group of counties that is seeing “high” transmission levels of the virus.
The county’s positivity rate has also climbed, moving up to 5.33%, its highest levels since a similar increase in COVID cases earlier this spring.
Hospital admissions are also up in the county, while the number of ICU beds being used for COVID patients is also slowly increasing, albeit not as quickly as other metrics.
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According to CDC data, all counties within the NBC 5 viewing area are now experiencing “substantial” or “high” transmission of COVID-19, meaning that the organization is recommending that all residents wear masks, regardless of their vaccination status.
Kankakee County, which until this weekend had been the lone county in the Chicagoland area that wasn’t in the “substantial” transmission group, has now crossed that threshold, with 50.06 new cases of the virus per 100,000 residents. The county’s positivity rate is still low, currently sitting at 2.64%, but it is slowly increasing, according to officials.
The CDC is now using two different metrics to determine the level of COVID transmission in a county: the number of new cases reported per 100,000 residents over a seven-day period, and the positivity rate of that county.
Local
If a county has 50-to-100 new cases of the virus per 100,000 residents over a weeklong-period, or has a positivity rate between 8 and 10%, then it is considered to have “substantial” transmission. If a county has more than 100 new cases of the virus per 100,000 residents per week, or has a positivity rate of over 10%, then it is considered to have a “high” level of transmission.
In both cases, residents are urged to wear masks, regardless of whether they have been vaccinated against COVID or not.
Here are the current numbers for all counties within the NBC 5 viewing area in Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana:
Wisconsin –
Kenosha County (High):
103.8 cases per 100,000 residents, 6.67% positivity rate
Illinois –
McHenry County (Substantial):
90.65 cases per 100,000 residents, 6.64% positivity rate
Lake County (Substantial):
73.94 cases per 100,000 residents, 4.78% positivity rate
DeKalb County (Substantial):
61.01 cases per 100,000 residents, 3.69% positivity rate
Kane County (Substantial):
60.86 cases per 100,000 residents, 4.97% positivity rate
DuPage County (Substantial):
78.77 cases per 100,000 residents, 4.18% positivity rate
Cook County (Substantial):
69.2 cases per 100,000 residents, 3.35% positivity rate
LaSalle County (Substantial):
74.54 cases per 100,000 residents, 3.66% positivity rate
Kendall County (Substantial):
82.95 cases per 100,000 residents, 6.11% positivity rate
Grundy County (Substantial):
90.1 cases per 100,000 residents, 5.92% positivity rate
Will County (High):
107.13 cases per 100,000 residents, 5.33% positivity rate
Kankakee County (Substantial):
50.06 cases per 100,000 residents, 2.64% positivity rate
Indiana –
Lake County (Substantial):
64.06 cases per 100,000 residents, 6.71% positivity rate
Porter County (Substantial):
56.93 cases per 100,000 residents, 7.47% positivity rate
LaPorte County (Substantial):
53.69 cases per 100,000 residents, 6.46% positivity rate
Newton County (Substantial):
78.66 cases per 100,000 residents, 9.28% positivity rate
Jasper County (Substantial):
89.39 cases per 100,000 residents, 9.68% positivity rate
