Elmhurst Approaches Record Number Of Virus Cases

ELMHURST, IL — In the second to last day of 2021, Elmhurst Hospital is approaching its record for the number of coronavirus patients.

As of Thursday, the hospital was treating 76 patients with confirmed cases of COVID-19. That's the highest number of patients in more than 13 months. The record was on Nov. 17, 2020, with 84 patients.

Because of the increase in patients, the hospital this week revised its visitation policy.

Of the hospital's patients, 47 were listed as unvaccinated, 21 as vaccinated and one as partially vaccinated. Data for the seven others has yet to be collected and posted.

The hospital has seen one more coronavirus death in the last day, bringing the total to 220 since the pandemic's beginning. Since March 2020, the hospital has discharged 2,354 COVID-19 patients.

While coronavirus cases have increased a lot recently, the number of deaths is far lower than previous surges.

Elmhurst Hospital serves an area far larger than Elmhurst. But the city's numbers are an indicator of what's happening. Last week, Elmhurst experienced 336 new coronavirus cases, the highest weekly number throughout the pandemic. The previous local record was 248 cases in November 2020.