COVID-19, Local, Park Forest, Science

COVID-19 Numbers Rise Significantly in Region


coronavirus covid-19 idph
(IDPH)

Park Forest, IL-(ENEWSPF)- Cases of COVID-19 infections (SARS-CoV-2) have risen significantly in our region since we last tracked numbers. Our count then was 17,711 cases in the 30 towns we follow. That number now sits at 20,596. The number of deaths due to COVID-19 has also increased from 520 at our last tally to 548 as of October 15, 2020, at 4:00:02 PM.

The increased numbers in Cook have not returned Illinois’ most populous county to warning level status yet.

Virtually every town in our region saw a marked increase in cases particularly over the last two weeks, with Park Forest seeing a 92.9% increase to 752 cases, up from 703 at our last count. Chicago Heights saw an 111% increase and now has 1,172 cases, up from 923 when we last tallied. Richton Park had the largest percentage increase in new cases over the past 14 days with a 136% jump.

Our data table for the percentage rise or fall of our 30 towns follows. Towns marked “N/A” are either marked so by Cook County because their change was negligible or because they are in Will County. We do not have 14-day statistics for Will County as the Will County COVID-19 Response page does not track this data yet.

(Please note: This table is actually our live Google spreadsheet and is currently updated with the latest figures. – October 15, 11:10 PM)

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today, October 15, reported 4,015 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 53 additional confirmed deaths.

Counties at Warning Level

Twenty-six counties are currently reported at a warning level – Case, Christian, Clay, Clinton, Coles, Crawford, Effingham, Fayette, Henderson, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Knox, Lake, Lee, Mason, Massac, Pulaski, Richland, Saline, Shelby, Union, Vermilion, Whiteside, Winnebago, Warren.

Although the reasons for counties reaching a warning level varies, some of the common factors for an increase in cases and outbreaks are associated with large gatherings and events, bars and clubs, weddings and funerals, university and college parties as well as college sports teams, family gatherings, long-term care facilities, correctional centers, schools, and cases among the community at large, especially people in their 20s.

The state recorded 6,531,009 tests performed and shows a current recovery rate of 96%, consistent with where that percentage was when we last tracked.

The dangers of the spread of COVID-19 are multiple and complex, as Dr. Timothy Angelotti, MD Ph.D., recently told eNews Park Forest, “The problem is it’s not about death, it’s not about the healthy people or the people that get very little illness from this. It’s about the surge that can happen in a hospital setting when you have a whole bunch of people get infected.

“Our biggest fear, and that’s what people don’t appreciate, that if you want a hospital full of people who are full of COVID then keep doing what we’re doing. Then all other medical care will go by the wayside until we get control of this. Do you want us to cancel elective surgeries again?”

Dr. Angelotti is an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine (ICU) at the Stanford University Medical Center. His Ph.D. is in pharmacology, and our entire interview with Dr. Angelotti is forthcoming.

Where do we stand today with COVID-19?

Park Forest now has 752 cases and a rate of 3509.26 per 100,000.

Chicago Heights has 1,172 cases, 249 more than when we last surveyed, and a current rate per 100k of 3871.05. Cicero leads still with 5,105 and the highest rate of the 30 by far at 6085.42.

Long-Term Effects of COVID-19

We have no data on how many people are suffering lingering effects of COVID nor does anyone know yet if some conditions those have since recovering will become chronic.

The CDC reports, however, that it “is actively working to learn more about the whole range of short- and long-term health effects associated with COVID-19. As the pandemic unfolds, we are learning that many organs besides the lungs are affected by COVID-19 and there are many ways the infection can affect someone’s health.”

“One of the health effects that CDC is closely watching and working to understand relates to COVID-19 and the heart,” the CDC says. “Heart conditions associated with COVID-19 include inflammation and damage to the heart muscle itself, known as myocarditis, or inflammation of the covering of the heart, known as pericarditis. These conditions can occur by themselves or in combination. Heart damage may be an important part of severe disease and death from COVID-19, especially in older people with underlying illness. Heart damage like this might also explain some frequently reported long-term symptoms like shortness of breath, chest pain, and heart palpitations.”

The CDC stresses that the “risk of heart damage may not be limited to older and middle-aged adults. For example, young adults with COVID-19, including athletes, can also suffer from myocarditis. Severe heart damage has occurred in young, healthy people, but is rare. There may be more cases of mild effects of COVID-19 on the heart that can be diagnosed with special imaging tests, including in younger people with mild or minimal symptoms; however, the long-term significance of these mild effects on the heart are unknown. CDC will continue to assess and provide updates as new data emerge.”

Projections and Current Numbers

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), an independent global health research center at the University of Washington, now predicts upwards of 389,087 people in the United States will die of the virus by February 1, 2020.

A total of 9,601 people in Park Forest have been tested with an overall positive test percentage of 7.87%, down from 8.58% when we last surveyed.

The Will County Health Department reports 80 cases of COVID-19 in the Will County section of Park Forest as of September 24, 2020. Will County has not updated its tallies-by-town since that date.

As of this writing, Steger has 216 cases, Flossmoor 222, and Richton Park 403. Olympia Fields is at 118, Sauk Village is at 220, Glenwood 294, Tinley Park 847, and South Chicago Heights has 144.

Harvey has 847 cases, Country Club Hills has 565 cases, Orland Park 1,594, Lynwood 249, Lansing 952, Homewood 483, South Holland 783, Markham 391, and Crete 395.

Ford Heights now has 54 cases, and Calumet City has 1,174.

Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 331,620 cases, including 9,127 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years.  The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from October 9 – October 14 is 4.9%.  Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 67,086 specimens for a total of 6,531,009. 

As of last night, 1,932 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19.  Of those, 388 patients were in the ICU and 147 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.   

As of October 15, 2020, there are a total of 67,160 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in suburban Cook County and 1,991 deaths.

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, Will County now reports 16,181, up from 13,330 confirmed cases when we last surveyed. There are now 415 deaths from COVID-19 in Will County.

COVID-19 at Ludeman Center

According to the state of Illinois, as of October 14, Ludeman Center in Park Forest has 232 residents who tested positive for COVID-19, one more than when we last surveyed. Of these 232 residents who tested positive, 221 have recovered.

A total of 137 staff members at Ludeman have tested positive, two more since we last surveyed. Of these, 131 have recovered and returned to work.

Ludeman Center employs 926 people and has 336 residents according to the October 14 data.

Deceased from COVID-19

The Cook County Medical Examiner now reports 5,341 total COVID-19 related deaths since March 16, 2020. This figure is from today’s date, October 10, 2020.

Park Forest has lost 21 people from COVID-19. That number has not increased since we last surveyed.

Cicero now has 103 deceased from COVID-19, up from 88 when we last surveyed.

COVID-19 Deaths for 30 Towns

Municipality Total Deceased Most Recent Population Figures
Rate per 100,000 Population*
Calumet City 9 37,042 24.30
Chicago Heights 37 30,276 122.21
Cicero 103 83,889 122.78
Country Club Hills 36 16,541 217.64
Crestwood 21 10,950 191.78
Crete 5 8,117 61.60
Dolton 24 23,153 103.66
East Hazel Crest 3 1,543 194.43
Flossmoor 9 9,464 95.10
Ford Heights 1 2,763 36.19
Frankfort 5 19,178 26.07
Harvey 26 25,282 102.84
Glenwood 7 8,969 78.05
Hazel Crest 19 14,100 134.75
Homewood 34 19,323 175.96
Lansing 12 28,331 42.36
Lynwood 2 9,007 22.20
Markham 17 12,508 135.91
Matteson 26 19,009 136.78
Oak Forest 10 27,962 35.76
Olympia Fields 4 4,988 80.19
Orland Park 39 56,582 68.93
Park Forest 21 21,429 98.00
Richton Park 14 13,646 102.59
Sauk Village 2 10,506 19.04
South Chicago Heights 0 4,139 0.00
South Holland 37 22,030 167.95
Steger 5 9,331 53.58
Tinley Park 14 49,235 28.44
University Park 6 6,958 86.23
Combined 548 606,251 90.39
*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.

The City of Chicago has lost 2,835 people to COVID-19, 73 more people since we last tallied.

As previously mentioned, the state of Illinois reports an overall recovery rate of 96%. According to the IDPH, the recovery rate is calculated as the recovered cases divided by the sum of recovered cases and deceased cases. Recovered cases are defined as persons “with an initial positive specimen collection date” who after more than 42 days “have not expired,” according to the IDPH.

Current COVID-19 Cases for 30 South Suburban Towns

Municipality COVID-19 Cases Most Recent Population Figures Rate per 100,000 Population* 14-day % Change
Calumet City 1,174 37,042 3,169.38 +91.5%
Chicago Heights 1,172 30,276 3,871.05 +111%
Cicero 5,105 83,889 6,085.42 -9.58%
Country Club Hills 565 16,541 3,415.75 +160%
Crestwood 288 10,950 2,630.14 +75.0%
Crete 395 8,117 4,866.33 N/A
Dolton 699 23,153 3,019.05 +86.4%
East Hazel Crest 37 1,543 2,397.93 N/A
Flossmoor 222 9,464 2,345.73 +144%
Ford Heights 54 2,763 1,954.40 N/A
Frankfort 611 19,178 3,185.94 N/A
Glenwood 294 8,969 3,277.96 -26.3%
Harvey 847 25,282 3,350.21 +38.5%
Hazel Crest 407 14,100 2,886.52 +28.6%
Homewood 483 19,323 2,499.61 +180%
Lansing 952 28,331 3,360.28 +29.7%
Lynwood 249 9,007 2,764.52 -44.4%
Markham 391 12,508 3,126.00 +42.9%
Matteson 707 19,009 3,719.29 +38.2%
Oak Forest 650 27,962 2,324.58 +36.9%
Olympia Fields 118 4,988 2,365.68 N/A
Orland Park 1,594 56,582 2,817.15 +81.6%
Park Forest 752 21,429 3,509.26 +92.9%
Richton Park 403 13,646 2,953.25 +136%
Sauk Village 220 10,506 2,094.04 +77.8%
South Chicago Heights 144 4,139 3,479.10 N/A
South Holland 783 22,030 3,554.24 +66.7%
Steger 216 9,331 2,314.86 N/A
Tinley Park 847 49,235 1,720.32 +36.0%
University Park 217 6,958 3,118.71 N/A
Combined 20,596 606,251 3397.27
*Numbers per 100,000 based on most recent population from US Census.gov or derived via formula using rate per 100,000 population and COVID-19 cases as reported by Cook County.

The following chart will auto-update as we update our Google spreadsheet:

State of Illinois: Most Recent Update

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 4,015 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 53 additional confirmed deaths. On September 4, 2020, IDPH reported 5,368 new cases of COVID-19 after a slowdown in data processing delayed reporting of some additional aggregate numbers. Cases not reported in the previous several days were included in the September 4, 2020 total. The slowdown did not affect the reporting of positive or negative results to individuals in any way.  

  • Adams County: 1 female 80s
  • Bureau County: 1 male 70s
  • Carroll County: 1 female 70s
  • Champaign County: 1 female 60s
  • Christian County: 1 female 60s
  • Clark County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 90s
  • Clay County: 1 male 70s, 2 females 80
  • Cook County: 1 male 60s, 1 female 70s, 3 males 70s, 3 females 80s, 1 male 80s, 2 males 90s
  • DuPage County: 1 female 60s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s, 1 female 90s
  • Fayette County: 1 male 80s
  • Jackson County: 1 female 70s
  • Jefferson County: 1 female 90s
  • Kane County: 2 males 80s
  • Kendall County: 1 male 60s
  • Knox County: 1 male 20s
  • Lawrence County: 1 male 80s
  • Marion County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s
  • McLean County: 1 male 60s
  • Moultrie County: 1 male 70s
  • Peoria County: 1 female 90s
  • Richland County: 1 female 60s
  • Rock Island County: 1 female 70s
  • Saline County: 1 female 70s
  • Shelby County: 1 male 70s
  • St. Clair County: 1 female 80s
  • Tazewell County: 1 female 70s
  • Wabash County: 1 female 60s
  • Wayne County: 1 male 70s
  • Will County: 1 male 50s, 1 male 70s, 1 male 80s, 1 female 90s
  • Winnebago County: 1 male 80s, 1 male 90s

Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 331,620 cases, including 9,127 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from October 9 – October 14 is 4.9%.  Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 67,086 specimens for a total of 6,531,009. As of last night, 1,932 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 388 patients were in the ICU and 147 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.   

Starting October 15, IDPH is including both molecular and antigen tests in the number of statewide total test performed in Illinois.  Previously, due to the limited number of antigen tests and limited information about antigen test accuracy, antigen tests were not included in the total number (which comprised less than 1% of total tests performed).  Antigen tests, like BinaxNOW™, are now becoming more readily available, therefore, IDPH will include both molecular and antigen tests in its total number of tests starting October 15, 2020. 

Following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, IDPH is now reporting separately both confirmed and probable cases and deaths on its website. Reporting probable cases will help show the potential burden of COVID-19 illness and efficacy of population-based non-pharmaceutical interventions. IDPH will update these data once a week.

*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.  For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email [email protected].

About the Elisabeth Ludeman Center

As of June 17, the latest date that data is available, the Illinois Department of Human Services reports a current census of 339 residents at Ludeman Center. Of these:

  • The average age is 53.4 years (22 – 77);
  • 72% of the residents are severe and profound mentally, intellectually, and physically disabled.
  • 52% are non-verbal, using sign language or gestures to communicate;
  • 58% have a behavior intervention program, often requiring higher
    levels of staff supervision;
  • 63% receive psychotropic medications.

According to the IDHS:

The Elisabeth Ludeman Center occupies 60 acres in Park Forest at the southwest corner of Orchard Drive and North Street.

The Center is divided into three (3) residential units comprised of 13-14 homes. Each unit has a centrally located Neighborhood House which has offices for the Unit Director, Social Worker, Unit Physician, Nursing Personnel, Qualified Intellectual Disabilities Professionals, (QIDP’s), Residential Services Supervisors and clerical personnel. The Ludeman Center also serves as an admission center for individuals having significant adaptive issues in the community-based setting. The Interdisciplinary teams’ main priority is to stabilize and ensure a successful transition back into the community.

Each of the 40 ranch-style homes has a kitchen, dining/living room area, utility room which contains a washer and dryer, two full and one half bathrooms, and five bedrooms.

Approximately half of the people who currently reside at the Ludeman Center attend vocational training programs at community training sites or workshops. The remainder of the people are served in on-campus day training programs. Currently, several individuals are working in a food service program, housekeeping program, horticulture program (vegetable garden and greenhouse flowers) and in the Center-wide recycling program.

Finally, the Ludeman Center has opened its doors and shared space/services with the Illinois Department Of Transportation’s District 1 South DBE Resource Center; as well as the Office of the Inspector General, Bureau of Civil Affairs, Bureau of Quality Management, and SODC Operations.

*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 has on our region.

Sources: Illinois Department of Public Health, Cook County Medical Examiner, Chicago Tribune, Will County Health Department, IHME, and Cook County Public Health.


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