12 Deaths At Kane Co. Nursing Homes In 1 Week; Cases Top 1,000

KANE COUNTY, IL — A dozen residents of long-term-care facilities in Kane County died from coronavirus-related conditions in the past week, according to public health data released Friday. Four residents died during the previous two weeks, the data shows.

Statistics from the Illinois Department of Public Health show long-term-care facilities account for nearly 60 percent of the county’s coronavirus-linked deaths, with 171 total. More than 1,000 residents and staff members at these facilities have tested positive for the coronavirus, as of Friday, according to state data.

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Fifty residents and staff members at long-term-care facilities tested positive between July 10 and July 17; 33 people at those facilities tested positive over the previous two weeks, the data shows.

Since July 3, public health officials have deemed outbreaks "closed" at 13 Kane County facilities after they went 28 days without reporting new cases. More than two dozen long-term-care facilities in the county still have "open" outbreaks, according to the data.

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Eleven facilities in Aurora reported cases of the coronavirus among residents and staff, but outbreaks at six have been deemed closed, the data shows.

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Despite representing 7.2 percent of Aurora's coronavirus cases, residents of long-term-care facilities account for 47 percent of the city's coronavirus-related deaths — with 53 — according to state and city data.

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The 12 coronavirus-related deaths reported at Kane County long-term-care facilities between July 10 and July 17 include four residents at Bria of Geneva. Six people at the facility also tested positive over that period, the data shows.

Officials at Bria of Geneva said Tuesday that the six new cases recently reported by the IDPH were "false positives," and each of the six residents subsequently tested negative twice.

"We defer to IDPH on their methodology of including confirmed false-positives in facility reporting and can confirm that it's not an accurate reflection of facility status," officials told Patch in a statement Tuesday.

Bria officials also said they do not know how officials are counting four additional deaths at the facility, as they have not reported any new deaths to the state, nor have they learned of any deaths outside Bria of Geneva that were linked to the facility. Officials speculated the IDPH may have counted patients that tested positive for the coronavirus after dying.

Bria of Geneva recently welcomed family members back to visit with residents after implementing stringent protocols at the facility. As of Tuesday, Bria's coronavirus task force is allowing outdoor visits between residents and family to continue as long as all involved test negative for the coronavirus.

Three residents of Citadel of Elgin died between July 10 and July 17, as did two residents at White Oaks at Heritage Woods in South Elgin, according to the state’s data. Dunham Rehabilitation Center (in St. Charles), Heritage Health Therapy and Senior Center, and Fox River Rehab and Healthcare (both of Elgin) each reported the death of one resident over that period, the data shows.

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Two facilities — Avantara Elgin and South Elgin Rehab — recently reported their first coronavirus cases. Thirteen people at Avantara and 30 at South Elgin Rehab have tested positive, as of Friday, the data shows. One resident at South Elgin Rehab died Monday, according to Kane County Coroner Rob Russell.

*Editor's note: This story was updated to include comment from Bria of Geneva officials, who dispute the Illlinois Department of Public Health's statistics on long-term-care facilities.

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