The total number of new cases of COVID-19 in Evanston for the week ended June 22 was 215, up 6% from the week ended June 16. The number of new cases in the state fell by about 16%. Hospitalizations remained at about the same level.
Cook County, including Chicago, is in the “intermediate” risk community level. City officials say Evanston is also in the “medium” risk tier.
The City of Evanston says the state, county and city have no mechanism to report, review or track home test results. Because a positive at-home test is considered very accurate, most people who test positive on an at-home test do not receive a second test outside of the home that is reported to government officials. The number of new COVID-19 cases reported by IDPH and the city therefore significantly underestimates the actual number of new cases that will be contracted.
COVID vaccines for under 5s
Last week, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control approved the use of Moderna’s vaccine for children ages 6 months to 5 years and Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine for children ages 6 months to 4 years.
Moderna’s vaccine is two doses given four weeks apart. Pfifzer’s vaccine provides three doses, with the second dose given three weeks after the first and the third given two months after the second.
Both vaccines are currently available in Illinois this week. The Illinois Department of Public Health recommends that people find the nearest vaccination site at vaccines.gov.
Trends in new cases in Illinois and Evanston
Illinois: As of June 23, the number of new cases in the state was 3,493.
The seven-day average of new cases in Illinois on June 23 was 3,575 versus 4,251 on June 16, down 16%. The graphic below shows the trend.
Evanston: Evanston reported that as of June 22, there were 42 new COVID-19 cases among Evanston residents. (Evanston reports COVID-19 data with a one-day delay.)
There were a total of 215 new COVID-19 cases among Evanston residents in the week ended June 22, compared to 203 new cases in the week ended June 16, an increase of about 6%.
The graphic below shows the trend.
One Evanstonian died of COVID-19 in the week ended June 22. The number of deaths from COVID-19 rose to 150.
Northwest University. The latest data reported on NU’s website says there were 106 new COVID-19 cases among faculty, staff or students between June 10 and 16. If the cases involve an Evanston resident, they are included in Evanston’s data for the appropriate period, Evanston Department of Health director Ike Ogbo told the roundtable. NU will update its data tomorrow.
Cases per 100,000
The weekly number of new cases per 100,000 people in Illinois is 196 in the seven days ended June 23.
On June 22, the weekly number of new cases per 100,000 population in Evanston was 290. On June 23, the number was 164 for Chicago and 206 for Suburban Cook County. An accompanying chart shows the trend.
hospitalizations
Hospitalizations in Illinois due to COVID-19 have remained about the same over the past three weeks. On June 22, it was 1,129, down about 60 from a week ago.
The following chart, prepared by the City of Evanston, shows trends in hospitalizations due to COVID-19 at the three closest hospitals serving Evanston residents.
Cook County and Evanston are in the medium risk category
The CDC and IDPH look at the combination of three metrics to determine whether a community’s risk for COVID-19 is low, moderate, or high. These are: 1) the total number of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population over the last 7 days; 2) the new COVID-19 hospitalizations per 100,000 in the last 7 days; and 3) the percentage of staffed inpatient hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients. [1]
The City of Evanston reported tonight, June 23, that Evanston falls in the medium risk category. IDPH reported today that Cook County, including Chicago, falls into the intermediate risk category.
While Evanston has more than 200 new cases per 100,000 people, the city reported tonight that the city recorded a total of 6.4 new hospital admissions per 100,000 people in 7 days and that 2.2% of inpatient hospital beds are staffed by COVID patients ( using a 7-day average).
The city hasn’t said which hospitals or how many hospitals it is considering when analyzing community risk.
The CDC and IDPH recommend that people in a community with a “moderate” transmission rate should take the following precautions:
- “If you are immunocompromised or at high risk of serious illness, talk to your doctor about whether you need to wear a mask and take other precautions (e.g. testing).
- “If you have domestic or social contact with someone at high risk of serious illness, consider self-testing to detect infection before contact and consider wearing a mask when you are indoors with them
- “Keep up to date on COVID-19 vaccines and boosters
- “If possible, provide improved ventilation in all indoor spaces
- “Follow CDC recommendations for isolation and quarantine, including testing, if you are exposed to COVID-19 or have symptoms of COVID-19
- “If you are immunocompromised or at high risk of serious illness
- Do you have a plan for rapid testing (e.g. home testing or access to testing) if needed
- Talk to your doctor about whether you’re a candidate for treatments like oral antivirals, PrEP, and monoclonal antibodies
FOOTNOTES
1/ CDC recommends using three indicators to measure community COVID-19 levels: 1) new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population over the past 7 days; 2) new COVID-19 hospitalizations per 100,000 population in the last 7 days; and 3) the percentage of staffed inpatient beds occupied by patients with confirmed COVID-19 (7-day average).
The chart below illustrates how these indicators combine to determine whether COVID-19 community levels are low, medium, or high. That CDC makes many recommendations depending on whether the COVID-19 community level is low, medium or high.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/science-briefs/indicators-monitoring-community-levels.html