Kendall Co. Coronavirus Cases Surpass 1,400; Positivity Rate High

KENDALL COUNTY, IL — The number of coronavirus cases in Kendall County has surpassed 1,400 as of Saturday. According to a release from the Kendall County Health Department, there are 1,411 cases with 910 in recovery and 25 deaths.

The latest death was reported by county health officials on Tuesday, of a man in his 70s "that suffered from additional health complexities." Within five days, the county reported 61 new cases.

According to the Illinois Department of Public Health website, among the three long-term care facilities in Kendall County, Symphony at the Tillers of Oswego currently has the highest number of cases at 50 and nine deaths.

Kendall Co. Sheriff's Office Employee Tests Positive For COVID-19

As per data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau, only one percent of Kendall County's population have tested positive for the coronavirus and 0.019 percent have died because of it. However, until a few weeks ago, less than one percent had been diagnosed with COVID-19.

County health officials are asking residents to do their part in containing the spread of COVID-19 as the regional positivity rate continues to rise.

Oswego Village Hall Employee Tests Positive For Coronavirus

This comes just over two weeks after Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced a new mitigation plan that divided the state into 11 regions. The administration uses indicators including positivity rates, hospital admissions, new cases, clusters and deaths to assess the level of COVID-19 activity in each region.

Any region that sustains an 8 percent positivity rate for three days in a row or sees an increase in positivity rates and simultaneous decrease in hospital capacity will need to implement additional community mitigation interventions, the Illinois Department of Public Health website states.

Kendall County Remains Within State Coronavirus Guidelines: IDPH

ReAnn VanGundy, administrator of the Kendall County Health Department told Patch that an "increase in testing, perhaps complacency and risky behavior patterns amongst residents," could be a reason for the high positivity rate.

"From what we know, we have communal spread and not increased rates due to outbreaks," she said.

She said that in order to contain the spread, the health officials are stressing the importance of the 3 Ws: wearing a mask, watching your distance and washing your hands. Continued contact tracing and increased community education based on guidance from CDC is another way to quell the outbreak.

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