Suburban Cook County COVID-19 Risk Rises To 'Medium' Level

COOK COUNTY, IL — Public health officials said an increased level of coronavirus transmission in the Cook County suburbs means the area has entered the "medium" risk level.

As of Thursday, there were 210 weekly cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 suburban Cook County residents, according to the Cook County Department of Public Health.

As a result, the rolling average number of new daily cases last week reached its highest level since Feb. 1.

Public health officials recommended socializing outdoors, getting tested before attending public or family events, wearing a mask indoors and getting any COVID-19 vaccine boosters available.

“These recommendations are not new but are being emphasized to protect our communities from further increases in COVID," Dr. Rachel Rubin, senior medical officer and co-lead of the department, said in a statement. "As hospitalizations remain low, we want to contain further spread now.”

Any community where there are more than 200 new cases per 100,000 people every week is considered an area of medium or high risk, depending on hospitalization rates, according to the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention framework.

In the health department's suburban Cook County jurisdiction, there were 4.8 hospital admissions per 100,000 people for the week ending Friday.

Meanwhile, people with coronavirus occupied a total of 3.1 percent of the area's hospital beds. If either figure reached double-digits, the county would be considered at "high" risk, according to the new CDC framework.

Outside of CCDPH's jurisdiction, the transmission rate was 282 per 100,000 Evanston residents, 326 per 100,000 Skokie residents and 369 per 100,000 Oak Park residents, according to the most recent data available from other suburban Cook County public health departments.

According to the CDC, DuPage County was added to the list of places at "medium" community transmission levels two weeks ago. Lake County was added last week.

More than 90 percent of the United States remains at "low risk." But last week, the number of counties at "high risk" increased by 40 percent to a total of 56, the majority of which are in Upstate New York.