McHenry Co. COVID-19 Spread Is Now 'High'

MCHENRY COUNTY, IL — Public officials in McHenry County are urging people to wear masks while visiting indoor public spaces as coronavirus cases are on the rise.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has raised the community level of COVID-19 from medium to high for McHenry County. Other collar counties in the Chicago area are also currently marked as "high," including Lake, Cook and DuPage counties. You can get more information on the COVID-19 community level metrics and check the status of the county where you live, or may be traveling to over the Memorial Day weekend, here.

The measurement focuses on the impact COVID-19 could have on overall health and healthcare systems, according to a news release from the McHenry County Department of Health.

The measure is a combination of three metrics: the number of new COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 population in the past 7 days, the percent of staffed hospital inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients and total new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population in the past 7 days, according to the news release.

The McHenry County Department of Health is encouraging residents to wear a mask when indoors at public places, regardless of their vaccination status, and to improve ventilation throughout indoor spaces when possible.

Those who have a social contact or share a home with someone at high risk for severe illness caused by COVID-19 should consider self-testing to detect infection before contact and wearing a mask when indoors with them.

People who are at high risk for severe illness are encouraged to talk to their healthcare
provider about whether they need to wear a well-fitting mask or respirator, if they would qualify for therapeutics to treat the illness after symptom onset and other precautions, according to the news release.

Anyone who has symptoms, tests positive for COVID-19 or is exposed to someone with COVID-19 should wear a mask, regardless of their vaccination status.

For more information about COVID-19 in McHenry County, what to do if you test positive or are a close contact of someone who tests positive, visit here.