Elmhurst Sees 6 Percent Rise In Virus Cases

ELMHURST, IL — Elmhurst has seen a 6 percent increase in its coronavirus caseload over the last week. As of Sunday, Elmhurst had 525 cases, up by 29 from a week earlier, according to the DuPage County Health Department. The city's caseload has jumped by more than 175 in the last month.

As of Sunday, Elmhurst had seen 41 coronavirus-related deaths so far, according to the health department. That's two more than a week earlier.

Nursing homes are often hotbeds for the coronavirus, but those numbers have barely budged locally in recent weeks. In Elmhurst, The Grove of Elmhurst reported 88 cases as of Friday, up from 86 a week earlier, according to the state Department of Public Health. It was followed by 42 at Artis Senior Living and 17 at Lexington of Elmhurst. The total coronavirus deaths are 19 at Artis, 11 at Lexington and 10 at The Grove.

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

Here's a look at the coronavirus numbers in Elmhurst:

In DuPage County, Addison has the highest number of cases with 936, which works out to 25.7 per thousand. It is followed by West Chicago, with 880 cases, or 32.8 per thousand.

As of Sunday, Elmhurst had 11.2 coronavirus cases per thousand people. The figure compares to 8.5 in Darien, 9.5 in Western Springs, 9.7 in La Grange Park, 10.6 in Clarendon Hills, 12.4 in DuPage County, 14.6 in Hinsdale, 15 in Burr Ridge, 17.1 in suburban Cook County and 19.3 in La Grange.

As of Sunday, Illinois' coronavirus case count increased to 181,943, up 6 percent from a week earlier. The coronavirus has claimed the lives of 7,517 state residents.

Nationally, 4.6 million people have caught the virus and 154,002 have died from it.

Illinois Coronavirus Update July 31: 178,837 Cases, 7,495 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 increased by one in the last week to 13. In the early weeks of the pandemic, the number hovered around 60.

In the last week, the hospital reported four more deaths as a result of the coronavirus. That brings the total to 81.

Since March 24, 471 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.