More Restrictions Possible As McHenry Co. COVID-19 Cases Spike

MCHENRY COUNTY, IL — McHenry County is seeing a rapid increase in coronavirus cases, which may soon lead to more severe restrictions on bars, restaurants and social gatherings, local health officials said Thursday.

McHenry County is nearing the state’s COVID-19 “warning level,” which may trigger additional mitigations for the county as early as this weekend, Melissa Adamson, McHenry County Department of Health public health administrator, told the McHenry County Board on Thursday. Adamson said state health officials have indicated mitigations may also be put in place for all of Region 9, which includes Lake and McHenry counties.

The Illinois Department of Public Health says more restrictions may be needed to slow the spread of COVID-19, Adamson said.

• Illinois Coronavirus Update Oct. 15: 327,605 Cases, 9,074 Deaths

As of Thursday, there have been 5,310 coronavirus cases in McHenry County and 119 deaths, according to state data. The most recent data shows McHenry County had a 7-day rolling average positivity rate of 8.4 percent as of Oct. 11. On that day, positive coronavirus cases in the county reached 9.4 percent.

In particular, the county is seeing an increase in cases in two age groups: 45 to 64 years old and 65 to 79 years old. Local health officials have not determined any specific reason behind that increase.

“We have a similar number of mentions of people who have been in restaurants, they are in their offices, they are going to retail, they may be in school," Adamson said. "People are out more. People are meeting."

There has not been an increase in cases or outbreaks in long-term facilities, Lindsay Salvatelli, McHenry County Department of Health community information coordinator, told Patch in an e-mail response.

"There are several possibilities, such as more people are moving around and more social gatherings are occurring, but at this time we are not seeing anything that truly stands out," she said.

This is a developing story. Patch will update with more information as it becomes available.