School-Aged Virus Case Numbers Continue To Rise In Will County

WILL COUNTY, IL — As case counts and hospitalizations increase around the state, the Will County Health Department shared some information about test positivity, case counts and deaths in the county.

According to the health department, data as of Oct. 27 shows that Joliet is the Will County town with the most new cases for the week of Oct. 19. Here are the case totals for towns in Will County for the last week:

• Joliet, 335 new cases
• Plainfield, 240 new cases
• Bolingbrook, 120 new cases
• New Lenox, 103 new cases
• Lockport, 102 new cases
• Frankfort, 100 new cases
• Romeoville, 92 new cases
• Homer Glen, 79 new cases
• Shorewood, 62 new cases
• Mokena, 56 new cases
• Crest Hill, 52 new cases
• Naperville, 40 new cases
• Manhattan, 34 new cases
• Crete, 29 new cases
• Monee, 29 new cases
• Braidwood, 23 new cases
• Channahon, 23 new cases
• Aurora, 21 new cases
• Peotone, 18 new cases
• Steger, 18 new cases
• Wilmington, 18 new cases
• Rockdale, 10 new cases
• University Park, 9 new cases
• Beecher, 9 new cases
• Elwood, 5 new cases
• Godley, 2 new cases
• Park Forest, 2 new cases

The week of Oct. 19 also saw the highest number of new cases for middle school and high school settings since Aug. 10, according to the health department.

Elementary school new cases dropped slightly compared to the week of Oct. 12. For the week of Oct. 12, there were 24 new cases, and for the week of Oct. 19, there were 21 new cases in the elementary setting.

For the week of Oct. 19, there were also 88 new cases for the high school setting (ages 14-18) and 42 new cases in middle schools (ages 10-13). Many school districts in the area are now in a hybrid learning model or full in-person, rather than remote only.

The health department also broke down the number of coronavirus-related deaths as of Oct. 26 by age and gender:

• Less than five years old: 0 deaths for either gender
• 10s: 1 female death, 0 male deaths
• 20s: 0 female deaths, 1 male death
• 30s: 2 female deaths, 1 male death
• 40s: 3 female deaths, 8 male deaths
• 50s: 13 female deaths, 24 male deaths
• 60s: 25 female deaths, 45 male deaths
• 70s: 50 female deaths, 58 male deaths
• 80s: 62 female deaths, 62 male deaths
• 90s: 54 female deaths, 17 male deaths
• 100s: 2 female deaths, 2 male deaths

While people who are age 50 and older account for the most deaths, the age range with the highest amount of cases is actually those in their 20s. One child between the ages of 10 and 19 also died, along with a man in his 20s. Health department data shows the number of cases based on age as:

• Less than 10, 494 cases
• 10s, 1,777 cases
• 20s, 3,647 cases
• 30s, 2,841 cases
• 40s, 3,063 cases
• 50s, 3,078 cases
• 60s, 1,820 cases
• 70s, 931 cases
• 80s, 469 cases
• 90s, 186 cases
• 100s, 14 cases

Additional mitigations are still in place in Will County, and include:

Bars

• No indoor service
• All outside bar service closes at 11:00 p.m.
• All bar patrons should be seated at tables outside
• No ordering, seating, or congregating at the bar (bar stools should be removed)
• Tables should be 6 feet apart
• No standing or congregating indoors or outdoors while waiting for a table or exiting
• No dancing or standing indoors
• Reservations required for each party
• No seating of multiple parties at one table

Restaurants

• No indoor dining or bar service
• All outdoor dining closes at 11:00 p.m.
• Outside dining tables should be 6 feet apart
• No standing or congregating indoors or outdoors while waiting for a table or exiting
• Reservations required for each party
• No seating of multiple parties at one table

Meetings, Social Events, Gatherings

• Limit to lesser of 25 guests or 25 percent of overall room capacity
• No party buses
• Gaming and Casinos close at 11 p.m., are limited to 25 percent capacity, and follow mitigations for bars and restaurants, if applicable