City Of Evanston's Coronavirus Death Count Differs From County's

EVANSTON, IL — Data from the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office shows more coronavirus deaths among Evanston residents than acknowledged by the city. According to to the city's website, just two Evanston residents had died from COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, as of Wednesday. But the medical examiner's office attributed the deaths of at least four Evanston residents to the virus. The most recent COVID-19 death recorded in Evanston occurred on Friday, according to county data.

The first Evanston resident whose death was blamed on the virus was a 93-year-old man who lived at the Three Crowns Park retirement community and died March 22, facility administrators and city officials announced last month.

On March 30, an 83-year-old retired attorney who lived in the 6th Ward died of the virus, according to the medical examiner's office.

Another Three Crowns Park resident, a 95-year-old WWII veteran and retired pathologist, died of the coronavirus on April 2, according to the senior living facility and the medical examiner's office.

On April 3, an 82-year-old Evanston woman with underlying chronic health conditions died with COVID-19 listed by the medical examiner as the primary cause.

It was not clear which of the above cases were included in city officials' determination that only two Evanston residents had died as of April 7.

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Health and Human Services Director Ike Ogbo said the city adds the number of deaths to its website after receiving death certificates, cross referencing the identity of the deceased with test results collected by the state's surveillance system. Anyone who dies within 30 days of the onset of coronavirus disease will be included, he said, regardless of the cause of death listed on their death certificate.

More than 120 Evanston residents have tested positive for COVID-19 in the three weeks after the first coronavirus case was detected in the county, according to the health department. Information about the rate of testing is not available.

Mayor Steve Hagerty last week said the city does not have data regarding how many Evanstonians have been tested so far because the Illinois Department of Public Health has not provided it to local health departments.

Administrators and family members of residents at local assisted living facilities have called for additional testing for staff and especially vulnerable older residents.

According to notes from Tuesday's meeting of the mayor's COVID-19 task force, protective equipment for staff at senior living facilities remains a "very urgent need," and three long-term care providers have reported confirming additional coronavirus cases at their facilities.