Kane County Coronavirus Cases Reach Highest Levels In 2 Months

KANE COUNTY, IL — Last week, Kane County saw its largest spike in new coronavirus cases since the end of May, which also pushed the county’s average daily case toll to its highest point in two months.

Public health data shows 102 Kane County residents tested positive for the coronavirus July 30 — the most since May 29. The county’s 7-day rolling average — a measure that takes into account daily fluctuations in testing to show longer-term trends in coronavirus data — reached 73.7 cases on Sunday, the highest it has been since June 3, the data shows.

District 204 Schools To Use Remote Learning Through October

Statistics from the Illinois Department of Public Health show the number of new cases each week has been rising since the end of June. Officials reported 209 coronavirus cases during the first week of July, 247 during the second week, 284 during the third week, and 387 during the fourth week of the month.

District 131 Delays In-Person Classes Until Early November

Between July 28 and Aug. 3, 459 Kane County residents tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the state’s data. As of Monday, 9,330 people in the county have tested positive, the data shows.

Of the 459 residents who tested positive between July 28 and Aug. 3, 138 were from Aurora, 87 were from Elgin, 44 were from St. Charles and 33 were from Carpentersville. New cases over the past week also include 25 in Geneva, 22 in Batavia, 20 in South Elgin and 14 in North Aurora, the data shows.

St. Charles District 303 Pushes Back School Year’s Start

Public health officials reported five additional coronavirus-related deaths over the same period, bringing the county's death toll to 299 people.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker and IDPH officials redrew Illinois’ coronavirus emergency management map last month, adding seven new regions to better target mitigation strategies and any new restrictions in regions where cases are climbing.

West Aurora Schools Scrap In-Person Learning, Delay Start Date

Under the state's new mitigation plans, regions face new restrictions on businesses and activities if they meet certain statistical thresholds. New restrictions would be implemented in a region if it records positivity rates of more than 8 percent for three consecutive days.

Hesed House Pleads For Funding To Avoid Homelessness Crisis

Pritzker warned state officials would also impose new restrictions if a region reports daily positivity-rate increases seven times with 10 days, along with an increase in hospital admissions due to coronavirus-related symptoms or a drop in capacity in intensive care units.

The positivity rate in Region 8 — made up of Kane and DuPage counties — has risen from 3.6 percent on July 16 to 4.7 percent on July 31, according to statistics from the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Fiber Optics Micro-Factory Opens In Aurora; Firm To Hire Dozens

Officials from Region 8, also called the West Suburban region, reported increases in positivity rates and hospital admissions four times in the past 10 days. Forty-seven percent of the region's ICU units and 37 percent of medical/surgical beds are currently available, well above the state's 20 percent threshold for new restrictions.

REGIONAL NEWS:

• St. Charles District 303 Pushes Back School Year’s Start
• St. Charles Sisters, 10 And 12, Seriously Hurt In Jet-Ski Crash
• Officials Urge Coronavirus Survivors To Donate Plasma, Save Lives
• Businesses Seek Slice Of Kane County’s Coronavirus Relief Funds
• IL Temp Agencies Accused Of Wage-Fixing, ‘No Poach’ Agreements