Park Forest, IL-(ENEWSPF)- The number and of known COVID-19 cases and rates per 100,000 people continue to rise in most of the 30 towns tracked by eNews Park Forest. The Town of Cicero has the largest number of cases at 610 with a rate of 727.15 per 100,000. The city with the next comparable population is Orland Park which only has 183 known cases and a rate of 323.42 per 100,000.
We can attribute the increased numbers to more availability of testing in the South Suburbs, but cannot rule out that the infection might still be spreading.
Park Forest now has a rate of 1,423.30 per 100,000 people with 305 cases, according to data provided by the Illinois Department of Public Health. This remains the highest rate per 100,000 people of any of the 30 towns we track.
The Will County Health Department still reports 12 cases of COVID-19 in the Will County section of Park Forest.
The number of deaths related to COVID-19 in the Cook County section of Park Forest rose to 9 since we last tallied comprehensively on April 23. Chicago Heights lost one more person in the past couple of days, that number now at 12. Cicero lost 18, Richton Park 7, Matteson 11, and Country Club Hills remains at 9. The number of deaths in Steger (Cook County) is also unchanged since April 20 at 3.
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) says the number of COVID-19 cases peaked in Illinois on April 17, but testing continues. Hence, the number of cases in the South Suburbs continues to rise. The IHME also says the peak death rate from the worst pandemic in anyone’s memory has also passed in Illinois.
“Since data can fluctuate daily, IHME uses the overall trend (rather than the single highest reported number) to identify a peak date of daily deaths,” the organization’s website notes.
IHME projections assume strict social distancing continues until infections are minimized and containment implemented.
As of this writing on April 26, Chicago Heights has 188 cases, Steger has 40, Flossmoor 54, Richton Park 111, Olympia Fields 34, Sauk Village 58, Glenwood 57, Tinley Park 122, and South Chicago Heights has 28.
Harvey has 178 cases, Country Club Hills has 148 cases, Orland Park 183, Lynwood 72, Lansing 147, Homewood 127, South Holland 211, Calumet City 248, Markham 106, and Crete 72. Ford Heights now has 16 cases.
Again, Cicero stands alone again with the highest number of cases at 610 with a much higher rate per 100,000 at 727.15. Eighteen (18) people now have died of COVID-19 related causes in Cicero, one more since we tracked numbers on April 23.
New Mask Requirement in Illinois Effective May 1
Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced today that his stay-at-home order will continue in Illinois through the month of May. Additionally, he is requiring a “face-covering or mask” for all over the age of two under certain circumstances.
The Governor said:
Starting on May 1, any individual over the age of two and able to medically tolerate a face-covering or mask will be required to wear one when in a public place where they can’t maintain a six-foot social distance. Face coverings work and we need all Illinoisans to do their part here.
For our essential businesses, including manufacturers, we are issuing new requirements on social distancing and new caps on occupancy.
Again all of these things won’t take effect until May 1 – a week from tomorrow. And they are only minor modifications – what we can do safely – while keeping our stay at home restrictions in place as we manage through to the next phase.
Current COVID-19 Cases for Several South Suburban Towns
Municipality | COVID-19 Cases | Most Recent Population Figures | Rate per 100,000 Population* |
Calumet City | 248 | 37042 | 669.51 |
Chicago Heights | 188 | 30276 | 620.95 |
Cicero | 610 | 83889 | 727.15 |
Country Club Hills | 148 | 16541 | 894.75 |
Crestwood | 46 | 10950 | 420.09 |
Crete | 72 | 8117 | 887.03 |
Dolton | 172 | 23153 | 742.88 |
East Hazel Crest | 7 | 1543 | 453.66 |
Flossmoor | 54 | 9464 | 570.58 |
Ford Heights | 16 | 2763 | 579.08 |
Frankfort | 101 | 19178 | 526.65 |
Glenwood | 57 | 8969 | 635.52 |
Harvey | 178 | 25282 | 704.06 |
Hazel Crest | 114 | 14100 | 808.51 |
Homewood | 127 | 19323 | 657.25 |
Lansing | 147 | 28331 | 518.87 |
Lynwood | 72 | 9007 | 799.38 |
Markham | 106 | 12508 | 847.46 |
Matteson | 188 | 19009 | 989.01 |
Oak Forest | 74 | 27962 | 264.64 |
Olympia Fields | 34 | 4988 | 681.64 |
Orland Park | 183 | 56582 | 323.42 |
Park Forest | 305 | 21429 | 1423.30 |
Richton Park | 111 | 13646 | 813.43 |
Sauk Village | 58 | 10506 | 552.07 |
South Chicago Heights | 28 | 4139 | 676.49 |
South Holland | 211 | 22030 | 957.78 |
Steger | 40 | 9331 | 428.68 |
Tinley Park | 122 | 49235 | 247.79 |
University Park | 57 | 6958 | 819.20 |
Combined | 3874 | 606251 | 639.01 |
*Numbers per 100,000 based on most recent population from US Census.gov or derived via formulat using rate per 100,000 population and COVID-19 cases as reported by Cook County. |
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The following chart will auto-update as we update our Google spreadsheet:
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IHME stresses relaxed social distancing may be possible with containment strategies that include testing, contact tracing, isolation, and limiting gathering size.
The projections from IHME still show no anticipated shortage of hospital beds in Illinois, ICU, or other. The same still holds true for Indiana.
As of April 26, 2020, there are a total of 11,047 known confirmed cases of COVID-19 in suburban Cook County and 470 deaths. 113 congregate settings, such as long term care facilities or nursing homes, are reporting one or more confirmed cases. The data from Cook County includes all cases under the jurisdiction of the Cook County Department of Public Health (excludes Chicago, Evanston, Oak Park, Skokie, and Stickney Township). All numbers are provisional and subject to change.
As of this writing on April 20, Will County reports 2,075 known cases and 133 deaths.
Overall Stats for Illinois
The state of Illinois reports 41,777 positive cases of COVID-19, 1,874 deaths, and a total of 201,617 tests performed.
There are currently 1,244 COVID patients occupying 3,456 staffed ICU beds statewide in Illinois and 763 COVID patients on ventilators of 3,303 staffed ventilators, per the Illinois Department of Public Health.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) on April 25 announced 2,119 new cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 80 additional deaths.
- Coles County: 1 male 70s
- Cook County: 1 female 30s, 2 females 40s, 2 males 40s, 1 male 50s, 2 females 60s, 8 males 60s, 3 females 70s, 7 males 70s, 5 females 80s, 9 males 80s, 2 females 90s, 3 males 90s, 1 female 100+
- DuPage County: 1 female 90s, 1 male 90s
- Jersey County: 1 male 50s
- Kankakee County: 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s
- Lake County: 1 male 50s, 3 females 70s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s, 2 males 80s, 1 female 90s, 1 male 90s
- Macon County: 1 female 80s
- Madison County: 1 male 90s
- McHenry County: 1 female 90s
- Monroe County: 1 female 80s, 1 female 100+
- St. Clair County: 1 female 60s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s, 1 female 100+
- Whiteside County: 1 male 50s
- Will County: 1 female 60s, 1 male 60s, 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s, 2 males 80s
- Winnebago County: 1 female 100+
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 41,777 cases, including 1,874 deaths, in 96 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years.
For all personal protective equipment (PPE) donations, email [email protected]. For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email [email protected].
*All data are provisional and will change. In order to rapidly report COVID-19 information to the public, data are being reported in real-time. Information is constantly being entered into an electronic system and the number of cases and deaths can change as additional information is gathered. Information for a death previously reported has changed, therefore, today’s numbers have been adjusted.
Why Rate Per 100,000?
We found a clear explanation for viewing the rate of infections per 100,000 comes from Indiana University at Bloomington: “There may or may not be 100,000 residents in the county under review, but multiplying the result by 100,000 makes that rate comparable with counties with more than 100,000 or less than 100,000.”
“It is customary to use rates per 100,000 population for deaths and rates per 1,000 population for live births,” our source at Indiana University says.
So, none of the cities, towns, and villages we survey have 100,000 residents, but by using the rate per 100,000, we are able to compare apples to apples, so to speak, as if every town did have 100,000 residents.
eNews Park Forest will continue to track the effects the COVID-19 pandemic is having on our region.