Over 50% Of Lake County Coronavirus Deaths Nursing Home Residents

WAUKEGAN, IL — More than half the deaths attributable to coronavirus in Lake County have occured in long-term care facilities, according to a county spokesperson. Thirteen residents of such facilities have died out of the first 23 deaths reported in the county as of Thursday. The Lake County Health Department reported its first death from the coronavirus on March 27.

At least 150 of the 1,044 confirmed coronavirus cases in the county — more than 14 percent of the total — were detected among residents or staff at long-term facilities with at least two COVID-19 cases, according to health department data.

A total of 20 nursing homes have detected multiple cases of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the virus, according to the health department. Seven more have reported a single case. County officials have not disclosed the locations of those facilities or of deaths in the county.

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Nine additional long-term care facilities in Lake County have reported multiple cases of COVID-19 since last week, according to the health department.

The first nursing home in Illinois to report a cluster of coronavirus cases, Chateau Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Willowbrook, reported 51 confirmed infections, including 34 residents.

Seven people have died at that facility, according to the DuPage County Health Department, as of April 6.