Officials Concerned About Coronavirus Spike

LAKE, MCHENRY COUNTIES, IL — After a steady increase in coronavirus cases across Lake and McHenry counties, including a recent outbreak tied to youth sports camps, health officials are again reminding residents to wear masks and keep their distance from others in hopes of quelling the virus's resurgence. On Tuesday, health leaders said they were keeping a close eye on the uptick in cases and communicating with the state about possible clusters.

Lake and McHenry counties make up the North Suburban Region under the state's updated emergency management plan. The four former coronavirus regions have now been divided into 11 to better handle potential outbreaks and allow the state to implement regional interventions if cases continue to climb in certain areas.

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The North Suburban Region's positivity rate has seen nine straight days of increases, but overall it remains below the 8 percent threshold that would trigger another shutdown if exceeded for at least three days.

As of July 25, the region's positivity rate was 5.1 percent, up from 3.6 percent on July 17. Under the state's plan, restrictions could be tightened if there is an increase in positivity rates and simultaneous drop in hospital capacity.

Potential interventions will be chosen from a tiered 'menu' of options based on the severity and potential cause of the resurgence. For example, if county health officials have seen cases directly tied to bars, that could be factored in to any announcement on tightening restrictions, said Hannah Goering, spokeswoman for the Lake County Health Department.

The state could also choose to limit the size of social gatherings in a region not hitting its metrics, or scale back operations for specific businesses that pose a higher risk of transmission, including indoor dining, bars, salons or personal care services.

A joint statement released by both counties' health departments and county administrators Tuesday comes on the heels of an outbreak traced back to sports camps in Lake County. Earlier this month, Lake Zurich High School shut down youth sports camps after several students tested positive for the virus.

As of Tuesday, 73 people — half of which were Lake Zurich High School students — have been linked to the Lake Zurich outbreak, Goerig said. The outbreak likely stemmed from people attending several social gatherings in the week leading up to July 4, according to health officials.

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So while the state metrics show the North Suburban Region metrics currently meet state targets, health department leaders are concerned about the recent spike in cases and are proactively evaluating future interventions.

"We must all do our part to prevent new infections to keep our positivity rate from continuing to climb," said Mark Pfister, executive director for the Lake County Health Department.

This includes wearing masks, washing hands, and being sure to keep a distance between others. And these guidelines apply especially when attending social gatherings, even those with fewer 50 people, Goering said.

"There's not just a risk in going to some big party," Goering said. "Even going to smaller gatherings, multiple gatherings can pose a huge risk [of spreading COVID-19]."