COVID-19, Local, Park Forest, Science

A Midsummer Night’s COVID-19 Count


Time for a midsummer COVID-19 report for the region and Illinois.
Time for a midsummer COVID-19 report. (ENEWSPF)

Park Forest, IL-(ENEWSPF)- Approaching the Fourth of July, a midsummer COVID-19 reckoning shows the 7-day positivity rate in Illinois is less than 1% at 0.9%. While a tenth-of-a-percent might seem inconsequential, considering that there have been almost 26 million COVID-19 tests administered in Illinois, 0.1% less than 1% is welcome indeed. The positivity rate in Will County sits at 1% currently while the positivity rate for Cook County is only 0.7%.

Vaccinations are effective against all variants of the Coronavirus, this according to the CDC, the White House, the World Health Organization, Moderna, and  Pfizer-BioNTech. An independent report out of Boston says, “In clinical trials, Moderna’s vaccine reported 94.1% effectiveness at preventing COVID-19 in people who received both doses. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was said to be 95% effective.”

Do the current batch of approved vaccines protect us from the Delta variant? What is the level of protection? If you can still get infected even after being fully vaccinated, then why should we vaccinate? WHO’s Chief Scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan explains in Science in 5. We offer video and audio of the presentation.

We last provided a comprehensive summary of 32 area towns, including Park Forest, in March. The numbers have increased since that time, of course. Counts of those infected and those deceased from COVID-19-related causes have both gone up. As of this writing, however, area hospitals are disturbingly full. Only 15% of beds at Franciscan Health in Olympia Fields are open; of these, only 1% of that hospital’s ICU beds are free right now. Silver Cross in New Lenox shows only 19% of all beds open but only 9% of the facility’s ICU beds are currently open. Advocate South Suburban in Hazel Crest has the most openings currently with 39% and 30% of ICU beds open.

As it stands today, 2,344 people in Park Forest have tested positive for COVID-19. Of these, 35 died.

South Chicago Heights still has no recorded deaths from the virus according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office. Cook County overall has seen 10,911 people die from coronavirus so far, with the virus claiming 5,324 in Chicago alone.

The combined number of deaths for the 32 towns we track stands at 1,168 as of this writing.

Will County has had 77,081 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 1,039 deaths. Deaths in Illinois currently stand at 23,245.

COVID-19 at Ludeman Center

According to the state of Illinois, as of July 2, 2021, Ludeman Center in Park Forest has 284 residents who tested positive for COVID-19. Of these, 277 have recovered. A total of 249 staff members at Ludeman have tested positive. Of these, 243 recovered and returned to work.

Ludeman Center currently employs 918 people and has 328 residents according to the latest figures supplied by the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Total Number of Cases of COVID-19 by Town

These hierarchy bubbles show cases, deaths, and cases and deaths per 100,000 population for all communities we track except Cicero. With the largest population of all towns we track, Cicero dominates any version of this chart we create, thus the exclusion.

The latest number of SARS-CoV-2 cases for 32 communities follow:

Municipality COVID-19 Cases Most Recent Population Figures Rate per 100,000 Population*
Beecher 891 7,860 11,335.88
Calumet City 3,995 36,698 10,886.15
Chicago Heights 3,935 30,276 12,997.09
Cicero 13,572 83,889 16,178.52
Country Club Hills 1,385 16,541 8,373.13
Crestwood 1,237 10,950 11,296.80
Crete 1,615 15,787 10,229.94
Dolton 2,293 22,462 10,208.35
East Hazel Crest 114 1,543 7,388.20
Flossmoor 827 9,577 8,635.27
Ford Heights 168 2,763 6,080.35
Frankfort 3,649 19,178 19,027.01
Glenwood 966 8,973 10,765.63
Harvey 2,562 25,282 10,133.69
Hazel Crest 1,419 14,100 10,063.83
Homewood 1,791 20,273 8,834.41
Lansing 3,528 28,745 12,273.44
Lynwood 944 9,007 10,480.74
Markham 1,237 12,341 10,023.50
Matteson 2,170 20,918 10,373.84
Monee 839 10,250 8,185.37
Oak Forest 3,111 26,996 11,523.93
Olympia Fields 378 5,055 7,477.74
Orland Park 6,528 56,582 11,537.24
Park Forest 2,344 22,218 10,550.00
Richton Park 1,307 13,979 9,349.74
Sauk Village 868 10,506 8,261.95
South Chicago Heights 357 4,139 8,625.27
South Holland 2,613 22,560 11,582.45
Steger 942 9,621 9,791.08
Tinley Park 5,290 49,235 10,744.39
University Park 645 6,958 9,269.91
Combined 72,629 627,402 11576.15

Total Deceased from COVID-19 by Town

Municipality Total Deceased Most Recent Population Figures
Rate per 100,000 Population*
Beecher 16 7,779 205.68
Calumet City 29 37,042 78.29
Chicago Heights 72 30,276 237.81
Cicero 201 83,889 239.60
Country Club Hills 59 16,541 356.69
Crestwood 46 10,950 420.09
Crete 15 8,117 184.80
Dolton 38 23,153 164.13
East Hazel Crest 3 1,543 194.43
Flossmoor 15 9,464 158.50
Ford Heights 2 2,763 72.39
Frankfort 11 19,178 57.36
Glenwood 16 8,969 178.39
Harvey 71 25,282 280.83
Hazel Crest 50 14,100 354.61
Homewood 54 19,323 279.46
Lansing 20 28,331 70.59
Lynwood 6 9,007 66.61
Markham 30 12,508 239.85
Matteson 53 19,009 278.82
Monee 11 9,400 117.02
Oak Forest 35 27,962 125.17
Olympia Fields 13 4,988 260.63
Orland Park 104 56,582 183.80
Park Forest 35 21,429 163.33
Richton Park 31 13,646 227.17
Sauk Village 5 10,506 47.59
South Chicago Heights 0 4,139 0.00
South Holland 64 22,030 290.51
Steger 7 9,331 75.02
Tinley Park 61 49,235 123.90
University Park 11 6,958 158.09
Combined 1,168 615,651 189.72
*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.

State of Illinois: Most Recent Update

Public Health Officials Announce 2,120 New Cases of Coronavirus Disease Over the Past Week

Almost 72% of Illinois adults have received at least one vaccine dose and more than 56% are fully vaccinated

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 2,120 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 54 additional deaths since reporting last Friday, June 25, 2021.  Almost 72% (71.8%) of Illinois adults have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose and more than 56% of Illinois adults are fully vaccinated, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,392,552 cases, including 23,245 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Since reporting on Friday, June 25, 2021, laboratories have reported 234,527 specimens for a total of 25,868,855.  As of last night, 424 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19.  Of those, 97 patients were in the ICU and 35 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.

The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from June 25 – July 1, 2021 is 0.9%.  The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from June 25 – July 1, 2021 is 1.1%.

“Celebrate the Fourth of July holiday weekend while exercising appropriate caution,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike.  “While many events are outside, it is still important for unvaccinated people to take precautions and, when necessary, avoid large crowds where social distancing is not possible.  For indoor events, unvaccinated people should continue to wear masks, and vaccinated individuals may choose to do so as well as the more virulent strain of COVID-19, Delta variant, increases in Illinois.”  

A total of 12,648,167 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight.  The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 41,150 doses.  Since reporting on Friday, June 25, 2021, 288,050 doses were reported administered in Illinois. 

*All data are provisional and will change.  Additional information and COVID-19 data can be found at http://www.dph.illinois.gov/covid19.

Sources Consulted or Referenced


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