215 New Coronavirus Cases Announced In Buffalo Grove In Last Week

BUFFALO GROVE, IL — Like every other municipality in Illinois, the Village of Buffalo Grove has been dealing with its own unique data points regarding the coronavirus. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, 1,899 people have contracted COVID-19 in Buffalo Grove since the outbreak began. That is an increase of 215 cases since Patch's last report on Nov. 27. For further comparison, there was an increase of 208 cases between Nov. 20-27.

The Lake County Health Department reports there have been 37,376 confirmed cases in Lake County. That's an increase of 4,018 cases since Nov. 27. For further comparison, there was an increase of 2,376 cases between Nov. 20-27. In addition, there have been 631 deaths, marking an increase of 35 since Nov. 27. For further comparison, there was also an increase of 31 deaths between Nov. 20-27.
Here is a breakdown of Lake County cases by age:

• Less than 20 (6,095 cases, marking an increase of 636 new cases since Nov. 27)
• 20-29 (7,161 cases, 674 new cases)
• 30-39 (5,574 cases, 637 new cases)
• 40-49 (5,864 cases, 669 new cases)
• 50-59 (5,660 cases, 603 new cases)
• 60-69 (3,560 cases, 437 new cases)
• 70-79 (1,683 cases, 232 new cases)
• 80-89 (955 cases, 93 new cases)
• 90 and older (533 cases, 44 new cases)

The Lake County recovery rate from the coronavirus is currently 96.7 percent. Recovered cases are defined as persons with initial positive specimen collection date greater than 42 days who have not expired. The Recovery rate is calculated as the recovered cases divided by the sum of recovered cases and total deceased cases.

The Illinois Department of Public Health reports 35,325 people have been tested across Buffalo Grove (zip codes 60069, 60089) as of Friday. That's an increase of 2,116 people tested since Nov. 27. For further comparison, there was an increase of 2,207 tests between Nov. 20-27.

According to the Cook County Medical Examiner, 26 people have died due to COVID-19 in the Cook County portion of Buffalo Grove since April 6. The latest two deaths were reported on Nov. 27 and Nov. 29.

Here is a breakdown of COVID-19 related deaths in Cook County by date in Buffalo Grove:

APRIL — 6 TOTAL

• 4/6 (1), 4/10 (1), 4/14 (1), 4/16 (1), 4/19 (2)

MAY — 6 TOTAL

• 5/4 (1), 5/5 (1), 5/10 (1), 5/17 (1), 5/23 (1)

JUNE — 6 TOTAL

• 6/5 (1), 66 (1), 6/11 (1), 6/12 (1), 6/13 (1), 6/28 (1)

JULY — 1 TOTAL

• 7/1 (1)

AUGUST — 1 TOTAL

• 8/23 (1)

SEPTEMBER — 1 TOTAL

• 9/29 (1)

OCTOBER — 2 TOTAL

• 10/16 (1), 10/24 (1)

NOVEMBER — 3 TOTAL

• 11/11 (1), 11/27 (1), 11/27 (1)

According to the medical examiner, the age breakdown for the 26 deaths are: 80+ (15), 70-79 (8) and 60-69 (3).

As of Friday, there have been 70 coronavirus-related cases in the Cook County portion of Deerfield, according to the Cook County Department of Public Health.

The Illinois Department of Public Health reports there have been 2,749 confirmed coronavirus cases and 379 deaths in long-term care facilities in Lake County. That marks an increase of 136 cases and 11 deaths since Nov. 27. For further comparison, there was an increase of 235 cases and 25 deaths between Nov. 20-27.

Here is a breakdown of cases and deaths at some of these facilities in Buffalo Grove:

• Belmont Village of Buffalo Grove — 66 cases, 19 deaths
• Symphony Buffalo Grove — 99 cases, 10 deaths

These numbers include both residents and employees of the long-term care facilities.

The coronavirus has claimed 192 more lives in Illinois, state health officials said Thursday, tieing with May 13 as the second deadliest day of the pandemic. The deadliest was Wednesday, when the state reported 238 deaths. Officials said some of those deaths may have occurred days ago, with reporting being delayed by the holiday weekend, but it's not clear how many, or if there was more of a delay than occurs every weekend. The state on Thursday also reported 10,959 new coronavirus infections, for a total of 759,562 since the pandemic began.

In all, 12,830 Illinoisans have now died from COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the new coronavirus. The latest deaths include:

• Adams County: 1 male 70s
• Bond County: 1 female 70s
• Bureau County: 1 male 60, 2 females 80s, 1 male 80s, 1 female 90s, 1 male 90s
• Carroll County: 1 male 70s, 1 male 80s
• Clinton County: 1 female 80s
• Coles County: 1 male 70s
• Cook County: 1 male 20s, 2 males 30s, 1 male 40s, 1 female 50s, 1 male 50s, 2 females 60s, 1 male 60s, 10 females 70s, 5 males 70s, 3 females 80s, 2 males 80s, 11 females 90s, 2 males 90, 2 females over 100, 2 males over 100
• Cumberland County: 1 male 60s
• DeKalb County: 1 female 70s
• Douglas County: 1 female 90s, 1 male 90s
• DuPage County: 4 females 70s, 2 males 70s, 2 females 80s, 3 males 80s, 3 females 90s, 1 male 90s
• Effingham County: 1 male 70s, 1 male 80s, 1 female 90s, 1 female over 100
• Fayette County: 1 male 50s
• Fulton County: 1 male 80s
• Hancock County: 1 male 80s
• Henry County: 1 male 60s, 2 males 70s
• Iroquois County: 1 female 70s, 1 male 80s, 1 female 90s, 1 male 90s
• Johnson County: 1 female 70s
• Kane County: 1 female 60s, 3 males 70s, 1 male 80s
• Kankakee County: 1 female 60s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s
• Kendall County: 1 female 80s
• Knox County: 1 female 90s
• Lake County: 1 female 40s, 1 female 80s, 3 males 80s
• Lawrence County: 1 female 80s
• Lee County: 1 male 80s
• Livingston County: 1 female 80s
• Logan County: 1 female 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s, 1 female 90s
• Macon County: 1 male 80s
• Macoupin County: 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s
• Madison County: 1 male 50s, 3 males 70s, 1 female 80s
• Marion County: 1 male 30s, 1 male 70s, 1 male 80s
• Mason County: 1 female 80s
• Massac County: 1 female 90s
• McHenry County: 1 female 80s
• Morgan County: 1 male 40s, 3 males 70s, 1 female 90s, 2 males 90s
• Ogle County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s
• Peoria County: 1 female 60s, 1 male 80s
• Perry County: 1 female 60s, 1 female 80s
• Pike County: 1 male 60s
• Rock Island County: 1 female 50s, 1 male 70s, 2 males 80s
• Saline County: 1 male 60s
• Sangamon County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s
• St. Clair County: 2 males 60s, 2 males 80s
• Stark County: 1 male 70s
• Tazewell County: 1 female 50s, 1 male 50s, 1 male 80s, 1 male 90s
• Vermilion County: 1 male 60s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 90s
• Whiteside County: 1 female 60s, 2 males 60s, 1 female 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s, 1 male 90s
• Will County: 1 female 60s, 2 males 60s, 2 males 70s, 1 male 80s, 2 females 90s, 2 males 90s, 1 female over 100
• Williamson County: 1 male 70s, 3 females 80s, 1 female 90s
• Winnebago County: 2 males 50s, 2 females 70s, 2 males 70s, 1 male 80s

New reported cases had declined for several days, but are now rising again, in a possible post-Thanksgiving surge. Health officials had feared family gatherings could serve as superspreader events, and it has now been a week since the Thanksgiving holiday — the median incubation period of the virus is 4-5 days, according to the CDC. If a spike from Thanksgiving is here, it would be expected to continue for about another week.

But even as new cases continue to mount, there are signs of light at the end of the tunnel. Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the state health department, said last week that officials hope to receive about 400,000 doses of the Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine within days of its approval by the Food and Drug Administration. While a report in Crain's Chicago Business, published Monday, casts some doubt on her optimism — Illinois may actually receive just 80,000 doses initially — approval could happen within weeks, and reports indicate shipments of the vaccine are already coming into O'Hare Airport in Chicago.

The FDA's committee on vaccines will meet to consider emergency use authorization for Pfizer's vaccine on Dec. 10 — just enough time for it to double-check the drug company's data, the agency said. Pfizer's vaccine was just approved in the United Kingdom and Cambridge-based Moderna's vaccine is hot on its heels. If approved in the United States, Pfizer said it hopes to have 40 million doses of the vaccine to Americans by the end of the year.

It can't come soon enough. And for many, it won't.

As with deaths, the positivity rate is ticking up day-by-day, and hospitalizations remain near all-time highs.

"We had hoped to see more progress in lowering hospitalizations by now," Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Monday. "The challenge we face was highlighted over the weekend by Dr. Anthony Fauci, who offered a bleak outlook and a warning that over the next two or three weeks we may see a surge upon a surge related to the holidays."

Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, told the governor that he believes this is no time to pull back on mitigations, Pritzker said.

Hospitalizations fell slightly from Wednesday. As of Wednesday night, 5,653 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 across Illinois — about 3 percent lower than the previous day — including 1,170 in intensive care and 693 on ventilators.

The statewide case positivity rate — a rolling, seven-day average — is now 10.4 percent, 0.2 percentage points lower than the previous day.

(The positivity rate is the number the state has reported since the start of the pandemic and is calculated by dividing total cases detected by total tests performed. Another way to calculate the positivity rate is to divide the number of positive tests by total tests performed. By that calculation, the test positivity rate is 12.3 percent.)

According to Johns Hopkins University, a positivity rate of less than 5 percent is a good measure of whether enough tests are being conducted, and state officials have said a rate higher than 8 percent will trigger new restrictions in a given region.

See how your region is doing here.

The United States now has more than 13.9 million confirmed coronavirus infections, and at least 274,577 Americans have died from COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins University. Based on the latest predictions by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 303,000 to 329,000 Americans could be dead from the disease by the day after Christmas.

Globally, more than 64.8 million people have been infected and more than 1.4 million are known to have died.

— Additional reporting by Patch Editor J. Ryne Danielson

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Here's what's happening with the coronavirus in Illinois:

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Illinois Coronavirus Helpline:

Illinois officials say a state helpline has been set up to provide emotional support and quick answers to questions about the coronavirus pandemic. Illinoisans can test "TALK" to 55-2020 (or "HABLAR" for Spanish), and within 24 hours they will receive a call from a counselor. Residents can also text keywords such as "UNEMPLOYMENT," "FOOD" or "SHELTER," to the same number to receive additional information about those topics.

Coronavirus by the numbers:

Illinois:

• Total number of coronavirus cases: 759,562
• Confirmed Deaths: 12,830
• People tested: 10,806,364
• Recovered: Illinois does not provide exact numbers of recovered cases, but says the recovery rate is 97 percent.

Nationwide:

• Total number of coronavirus cases: 13,993,296
• Deaths: 274,577
• People tested: 195,601,815
• Recovered: 5,322,128

Global:

• Total number of coronavirus cases: 64,863,145
• Deaths: 1,499,586
• People tested: No data available
• Recovered: 41,686,379

Sources: Johns Hopkins University and IDPH

Tips from the CDC on dealing with coronavirus:

While the best way to prevent illness is to avoid virus exposure, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention generally recommends taking these actions to prevent the spread of viruses:

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
• Stay home when you are sick.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipes.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom, before eating, and after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing.

What to do if you're sick:

Call head if you're planning to visit your doctor:

• If you have a medical appointment, call the health care provider and tell them that you have or may have COVID-19. This will help the health care provider's office take steps to keep other people from getting infected or exposed.

Stay home unless you must see a doctor:

• Stay home: People who are mildly ill with COVID-19 are able to isolate at home during their illness. You should restrict activities outside your home, except for getting medical care.
• Avoid public areas: Do not go to work, school, or public areas.
• Avoid public transportation: Avoid using public transportation, ride-sharing or taxis.

Separate yourself from other people and animals in your home:

• Stay away from others: As much as possible, you should stay in a specific room and away from other people in your home. Also, you should use a separate bathroom, if available.
• Limit contact with pets and animals: You should restrict contact with pets and other animals while you are sick with COVID-19, just as you would around other people. Although there have not been reports of pets or other animals becoming sick with COVID-19, it is still recommended that people sick with COVID-19 limit contact with animals until more information is known about the virus.
• When possible, have another member of your household care for your animals while you are sick. If you are sick with COVID-19, avoid contact with your pet, including petting, snuggling, being kissed or licked and sharing food. If you must care for your pet or be around animals while you are sick, wash your hands before and after you interact with pets and wear a face mask. See COVID-19 and Animals for more information.

Avoid sharing personal household items:

• Do not share: You should not share dishes, drinking glasses, cups, eating utensils, towels, or bedding with other people or pets in your home.
• Wash thoroughly after use: After using these items, they should be washed thoroughly with soap and water.

Masks:

• CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies), especially in areas of significant community-based transmission. CDC also advises the use of simple cloth face coverings to slow the spread of the virus and help people who may have the virus and do not know it from transmitting it to others. Cloth face coverings fashioned from household items or made at home from common materials at low cost can be used as an additional, voluntary public health measure.
• Cloth face coverings should not be placed on young children under age 2, anyone who has trouble breathing, or is unconscious, incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance.
• The cloth face coverings recommended are not surgical masks or N-95 respirators. Those are critical supplies that must continue to be reserved for healthcare workers and other medical first responders, as recommended by current CDC guidance.
• Face mask instructions — sew- and no-sew masks

To donate personal protective equipment (PPE), email [email protected]. For health questions about COVID-19, call the state coronavirus hotline at 800-889-3931 or email [email protected].