Important Message From Mayor Grasso On COVID-19

Press release from the Burr Ridge Police Department:

Friday October 2nd, 2020

President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for COVID-19. News reports state that both the President and First Lady were experiencing minor symptoms, including fatigue. Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) has also confirmed a positive test after closely interacting with the President in the previous week. Please continue to wear a mask and practice social distancing to the best of your ability to ensure your chance of contracting COVID-19 is as low as possible.

The total case count in Burr Ridge now is 283; up ten since my September 25 Mayor Message. The 14-day active case count for the Village overall is 32. Positivity Rate, Hospital Admissions, and Medical Bed and ICU Bed Availability metrics remain statistically stable for Region 8, which consists of DuPage County and Kane County. Cook County side of Burr Ridge has had 85 total reported cases, with a 35% decrease in new cases in the last 14 days. Region 8, our region, reports that 31 percent of its hospital beds are available and 44 percent of its ICU beds available. No counties in the Chicagoland region are currently on warning status. These are all good metrics for the region. The State is also reporting generally decreasing positivity rates and generally increasing testing capacity over the month of September, including over 72,000 tests conducted today, the second-highest one-day total since the beginning of the pandemic. If you need to be tested, they are more available now than ever.

While the efforts of Illinois residents appears to be paying dividends in battling COVID-19, worrisome data is being reported in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services reports more than 20% of COVID-19 tests were positive for 6 of the last 7 days. The number of deaths abated after two days above 20. According to the latest report Friday, 13,595 tests came back and 2,745 were positive, or 20.19%. A total 127,906 people in Wisconsin have tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19 in the past 8 months, a much higher proportion than in Illinois. The 7-day average percentage of positive tests is up to 22%, the highest on record. Even the 14- day average is a new high at 19.42%. If you are traveling to Wisconsin to enjoy the fall weather, please take extra precautions.

I am continuing to work with staff to gather information regarding health safety investments that could be made at retail and restaurant businesses in the Village, and will be making
some recommendations to the Village Board at our October 12 meeting. It is my goal to be able to assure our residents and patrons of our retail businesses and restaurants that they can be confident of shopping and dining in Burr Ridge as we enter the colder months. This goal includes possible collaboration with our retail businesses and restaurants to promote Burr Ridge as the safest village to shop and dine as we enter winter.

“Service is the measure of greatness; it always has been true; it is true today, and it always will be true, that he (or she) is greatest who does the most of good.” – William Jennings Bryan

SOCIAL DISTANCING – WASH HANDS – WEAR PROPER FACE COVERINGS

This press release was produced by the Burr Ridge Police Department. The views expressed here are the author’s own.