72% Of Coronavirus Cases Traced In Kane County: IDPH

KANE COUNTY, IL — Kane County Health Department contact tracers reached nearly three-quarters of all residents who tested positive for the coronavirus between Aug. 1 and Oct. 24, according to public health data.

Statistics from the Illinois Department of Public Health show Kane County contact tracers interviewed 5,538 of the 7,629 people who tested positive over that period, a response rate of 72.6 percent.

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To slow the spread of the virus, contact tracers reach out to people who have tested positive to make sure they're self-isolating and then try to determine who they came in contact with before testing positive.

In Kane County, contact tracers have attempted to contact 94.3 percent of 7,600-plus people who were confirmed or suspected to have the virus, according to the IDPH.

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County contact tracers also attempted to reach "close contacts," who are individuals that an infected person may have exposed to the virus. So far, they have attempted to reach 83 percent of close contacts and interviewed 69 percent.

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The Kane County Health Department said it made more than 17,000 in October, with just 1.58 percent of people refusing to participate, as of Nov. 6.

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Though people are picking up the phones for Kane County contact tracers, about two-thirds are not answering questions about where they had traveled before testing positive for the coronavirus, KCHD Director of Disease Prevention Uche Onwuta told the Aurora Beacon-News.

Statewide, contact tracers have a 53.6 percent success rate in reaching people who are confirmed or suspected to have the coronavirus, according to the IDPH.

For more information, visit dph.illinois.gov/covid19.

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