Elmhurst Passes 1,000 Coronavirus Case Mark

ELMHURST, IL — In the last week, Elmhurst has passed the 1,000 mark in the number of coronavirus cases since the beginning of the pandemic. Half of the cases have been reported since Aug. 1. As of Sunday, the city had 1,024 cases.

With the latest milestone, Elmhurst now joins five other DuPage County towns — Naperville (1,424), Addison (1,375), West Chicago (1,224), Glendale Heights (1,097) and Carol Stream (1,041).

Except for Naperville, the towns are smaller in population than Elmhurst, meaning Elmhurst has fewer coronavirus cases per capita.

Other DuPage County towns approaching the 1,000 mark are Lombard (947), Wheaton (821) and Downers Grove (807).

The last few weeks, Elmhurst has been seeing sizable increases in its cases. In the last week, the number of cases rose by 70, or a 7 percent hike. That compares to the 8 percent and 10 percent increases in the two previous weeks.

Last week, the Elmhurst public schools completed its phased-in return of in-person learning. All students have now been offered a mix of in-person and remote lessons.

As of Sunday, the number of coronavirus-related deaths in Elmhurst numbered 47, the same as the week before.

Nursing homes are often hotbeds for the coronavirus, but those numbers have barely budged in recent weeks. The Grove of Elmhurst reported 98 cases as of Friday, according to the state Department of Public Health. It was followed by 44 at Artis Senior Living and 28 at Lexington of Elmhurst. The total coronavirus deaths are 20 at Artis, 15 at The Grove and 13 at Lexington. Most of the cases and deaths were early in the pandemic.

The case numbers at nursing homes include employees, who may live elsewhere, and are thus excluded from Elmhurst's overall number.

Here is how Elmhurst's coronavirus cases have grown over time:

As of Sunday, Elmhurst had 21.9 coronavirus cases per thousand people. The figure compares to 16.2 in La Grange Park, 16.3 in Darien, 19.5 in Western Springs, 20.9 in Clarendon Hills and DuPage County, 23.5 in Hinsdale, 26 in suburban Cook County, 26.5 in La Grange (including unincorporated La Grange Highlands) and 27.5 in Burr Ridge.

As of Sunday, Illinois' coronavirus case count increased to 319,150, up 6 percent from a week earlier. The coronavirus has claimed the lives of 8,984 state residents.

Nationally, 7.7 million people have caught the virus, up 5 percent from the week before. A total of 213,614 people have died from the virus in the United States.

Illinois Coronavirus Update Oct. 12: 316,423 Cases, 8,975 Deaths — Don't miss updates in Elmhurst as they are announced — Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters.

Meanwhile, Elmhurst Hospital's coronavirus caseload was 16 as of Monday, up two from a week before. In the early weeks of the pandemic, the number hovered around 60.

As of Monday, the number of coronavirus-related deaths at the hospital was 93, three more than the previous week.

Since March 24, 584 patients have been discharged from Elmhurst Hospital following treatment for confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to the hospital. Elmhurst Hospital's patient base covers an area far greater than Elmhurst itself.