Virus Leaves Hinsdale Largely Untouched: Leader

HINSDALE, IL — Hinsdale's village president wants to assure residents that the vast majority of coronavirus cases in the village are at one place — ManorCare of Hinsdale nursing home.

At a Village Board meeting last week, Village President Tom Cauley said 77 percent of the local cases come from that single location. As of last Friday, ManorCare had 147 coronavirus cases and 19 related deaths, according to the state Department of Public Health.

As of last week's board meeting, there were about 30 village cases outside of ManorCare in Hinsdale, Cauley said. That's out of a village of nearly 18,000 people. All the coronavirus-related deaths in Hinsdale have been at ManorCare, he said.

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"This is the same situation around the country with assisted living — elderly people with pre-existing conditions who cannot socially distance. They are more at risk. We have to take precautions to protect them," Cauley said.

But he said it was important to make distinctions between ManorCare and the rest of Hinsdale.

"I want to make sure that when we read reports about the rise in Hinsdale's numbers, at least I'm going to take time to separate what happens at ManorCare from the village at large," Cauley said. "I don't want to create any false impressions that make it more difficult for the community to get back to normal."

He noted many Hinsdale businesses remain closed because of the governor's stay-at-home order.

"I am very concerned that they will not reopen unless we get back to normal soon," he said.