Kane-DuPage Positivity Rate Hits Highest Mark Of Pandemic: IDPH

KANE COUNTY, IL — More than five months after the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the positivity rate in Region 8 — made up of Kane and DuPage counties — reached its highest point, according to public health data.

The positivity rate, which is the number of positive coronavirus tests divided by the number of tests administered, hit 6.2 percent on Aug. 31, the highest it has been since officials started tracking the measurement at the end of June.

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Statistics from the Illinois Department of Public Health show the positivity rate in Region 8, also known as the West Suburban region, reached its lowest point — 3.7 percent — on July 6 before growing steadily throughout August.

The positivity rate was 4.4 percent on Aug. 4. It reached 5.8 percent by Aug. 20 and then surpassed 6 percent on Aug. 31.

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As of Aug. 29, Kane County’s positivity rate is 6.5 percent, while DuPage County’s is 5.5 percent, according to IDPH statistics.

Though the region’s positivity rate has grown during August, hospital admissions for coronavirus-related conditions have remained relatively steady throughout the month, public health data shows.

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State officials have implemented new coronavirus restrictions on businesses and activities in Region 4 (Metro East) and Region 7 (Will and Kankakee counties) after those regions recorded positivity rates of more than 8 percent for three consecutive days in August.

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Gov. J.B. Pritzker has said public health officials are also prepared to put new restrictions in place if a region reports daily positivity-rate increases seven times within 10 days, along with an increase in hospital admissions due to coronavirus-related symptoms or a drop in capacity in intensive care units.

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Region 8 has reported positivity-rate increases four times in the past 10 days, as well as three upticks in hospital admissions over the same period.

Forty-five percent of Region 8's ICU units and 31 percent of medical/surgical beds are currently available, well above the state's 20 percent threshold for new restrictions.

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The Illinois Department of Public Health on Aug. 14 added Kane County to its warning list for new restrictions after the county's coronavirus data exceeded two of its six countywide metrics. The county was removed from the list a week later, after reporting a drop in coronavirus-related deaths that week.

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Kane County remains at the warning level for one metric after recording 74 cases per 100,000 people between Aug. 23 and Aug. 29. The IDPH has set a target of 50 cases per 100,000 people.

Data through Tuesday was released Friday. Find the latest metrics from all regions below:

Region 1 (Rockford EMS region)

• 6.3 percent coronavirus positivity on Sept. 1, up from 5.1 percent over the past week
• Five days of increasing positivity rates out of the past 10 days
• The rounded rolling average is five new hospital admissions with "COVID-like illnesses" a day, up from three in each of the past two weeks
• 41 percent of surgical beds and 49 percent of ICU beds are available, compared to 43 percent of surgical beds and 52 percent of ICU beds a week earlier

Region 2 (Peoria EMS region)

• 7.4 percent positivity rate on Sept. 1, up by a full percentage point compared to last week
• Positivity rates have risen on five of the past 10 days
• Nine people, on average, are being admitted to hospitals in the region with symptoms of COVID-19, up from eight during each of the previous two weeks
• 40 percent of surgical beds and ICU beds are available. Last week, 38 percent of surgical beds and 43 percent of ICU beds were available in the region

Region 3 (Springfield EMS region)

• 4.7 percent positivity rate on Sept. 1, down from 5.7 percent a week earlier
• One day of a positivity rate increase followed by nine days of declines
• The average number of new hospital admissions remained at five for the fourth straight week
• 35 percent of surgical beds are available, the same as last week, and 35 percent of ICU beds are available in the region, down one point from a week earlier

Region 4 (Edwardsville EMS region)

• 9.3 percent positivity rate on Sept. 1, down from 10.4 percent a week earlier and its first decline in a month. Gov. J.B. Pritzker imposed additional restrictions on the Metro East region in response to its high coronavirus positivity rates
• Three days of positivity increases followed by three days of declines
• Five new daily hospital admissions with COVID-19 symptoms, down from six the previous week
• 31 percent of surgical beds and 49 percent of ICU beds are available, up from 29 percent and 37 percent, respectively, a week earlier.

Region 5 (Marion EMS region)

• 6.4 percent positivity rate on Sept. 1, down by 1.2 percentage points compared to a week earlier
• Four days of positivity increases and five days of declines in the past 10
• Three new average daily hospital admissions, the same as a week earlier
• 49 percent of surgical beds are available, up 3 points from the prior week, and 49 percent of ICU beds are available, down 6 points from a week earlier

Region 6 (Champaign EMS region)

• 1.9 percent positivity rate on Sept. 1, an increase of 0.2 percentage points. It remains the region with the lowest coronavirus positivity rate in the state.
• The positivity rate increased on four days during the past 10
• Eight people a day, on average, are being admitted to the region's hospitals with symptoms of the virus, up from five a week earlier
• 34 percent of surgical beds and 47 percent of ICU beds are available, an increase of 4 points in ICU beds over the past week

Region 7 (Will, Kankakee counties)

• 8.7 percent positivity rate on Sept. 1, up by 0.3 percentage points compared to the prior week. New restrictions were imposed on the region last week after the rate remained above 8 percent for more then three days in a row.
• Three days of increases in the positivity rate out of the past 10
• The rounded rolling average of the number of people newly admitted to hospitals with symptoms of COVID-19 remained at 11 for the third consecutive week, despite rising on four days of the past 10.
• 29 percent of surgical beds and 30 percent of ICU beds were available at hospitals in the region, up from 27 percent of both last week

Region 8 (Kane, DuPage counties)

• 6.1 percent positivity rate on Sept. 1, up from 5.7 percent a week earlier
• Four days of positivity increases out of the past 10 days
• The average number of new hospital admissions fell for the second week in a row to 10
• 31 percent of surgical beds and 45 percent of ICU beds are available, both are up 1 percentage point compared to a week earlier

Region 9 (Lake, McHenry counties)

• 6.1 percent positivity rate on Sept. 1, an increase of 0.2 percentage points for the second consecutive week. State public health officials added Lake County to its list of those that have reached a warning level for a surge of cases.
• The region has seen four days of increases to its positivity rate out of the past 10
• An average of nine people were admitted to hospitals in the region every day, up from seven a week earlier
• 38 percent of surgical beds were still available, up from 33 percent, and 50 percent of ICU beds were also available, compared to 49 percent last week

Region 10 (Suburban Cook County)

• 6.9 percent positivity rate on Sept. 1, an increase of 0.2 percentage points over the previous week for a second week in a row. Cook County was removed from the IDPH list of counties at a warning level due to COVID-19 risks.
• Positivity rates increased on three of the previous 10 days.
• 22 people were admitted to the region's hospitals every day, on average, with symptoms of COVID-19, an increase of one in the past week and three in the past two weeks.
• 27 percent of surgical beds were available, down one point from last week, and 34 percent of ICU beds were available, up 1 point from a week earlier

Region 11 (Chicago)

• 5.6 percent positivity rate on Sept. 1, up by 0.1 percentage points over the prior week
• Three days of positivity rate increases in the past 10 days
• An average of 20 people were newly admitted to the city's hospital's with COVID-19 symptoms, down by one from a week earlier
• 26 percent of surgical beds were available, up from 23 percent, while ICU bed availability declined by 1 point to 38, having fallen from 41 percent during the prior two weeks

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