Elmhurst Virus Caseload Continues To Rise Quickly

ELMHURST, IL — Elmhurst has seen another 10 percent increase in its coronavirus caseload. As of Sunday, Elmhurst had 496 virus cases, up by 45 from a week earlier, according to the DuPage County Health Department. The city's caseload has jumped by nearly 150 cases over the last three weeks.

As of Sunday, Elmhurst had seen 39 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 86 cases as of Friday, up from 85 a week earlier. It was followed by 42 at Artis Senior Living and 17 at Lexington of Elmhurst. The coronavirus deaths are 19 at Artis, 11 at Lexington and 9 at The Grove.

The case numbers at nursing homes include employees, who may live elsewhere and thus excluded in 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 892, which works out to 24.5 per thousand. It is followed by West Chicago, with 853 cases, or 31.8 per thousand.

As of Sunday, Elmhurst had 10.6 coronavirus cases per thousand people. The figure compares to 7.9 in Darien, 8.7 in Western Springs, 8.9 in La Grange Park, 10.4 in Clarendon Hills, 11.8 in DuPage County, 13.4 in Hinsdale, 13.7 in Burr Ridge, 16.5 in suburban Cook County and 17.8 in La Grange.

As of Sunday, Illinois' coronavirus case count increased to 171,424, up 6 percent from a week earlier. The coronavirus has claimed the lives of 7,398 state residents.

Nationally, 4.2 million people have caught the virus and 145,982 have died from it.

Meanwhile, Elmhurst Hospital's coronavirus caseload dropped by nine in the last week, to 12. In the early weeks of the pandemic, the number hovered around 60.

In the last week, the hospital reported two more deaths as a result of the coronavirus. That brings the total to 77.

Since March 24, 459 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.