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Local, state case numbers continue upward trend

By the numbers. The previous week, state officials said the COVID-19 trends were causing concern, and the numbers this past week continue to head in the wrong direction. 

On Aug. 7, the state announced that 13 counties are at a warning level. A county enters a warning level when two or more COVID-19 risk indicators increase.

The state also hit or topped 4 percent in the positive test rate for five of the past seven days. The last time the rate was as high as 4 percent was June 12. 

Daily case numbers, which had been between 1,000 and 2,000 since July 22 exceed 2,000 on Aug. 7 and Aug. 8. 

Deaths per day have remained fairly stable. The worst day this week was Aug. 5, with 30 deaths, and the best day was Aug. 9, with eight.

One positive milestone: On Aug. 8 the state topped 3 million tests administered.

Locally, there have been no additional deaths, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office, but case numbers continue to increase. Homewood and Flossmoor each saw an additional nine cases.

The Cook County Department of Public Health added a new metric to its COVID-19 map. It now includes the change in case numbers comparing counts from the past 14 days to the 14 days preceding that. 

On Sunday, Homewood’s two-week comparison showed an increase of 57 percent and Flossmoor’s increase was 50 percent.

Feeling sleep deprived? A survey of 3,000 Americans by Ocere.com, a blogger outreach agency, found out how much sleep has been lost over the pandemic. Overall the average Illinoisan has missed out on 17.8 hours of quality sleep each week since the pandemic began. That breaks down to more than three hours per night. 

The survey was from a period March 1 through July 22. It revealed 37 percent of respondents listed worries about the pandemic as their main concern; 20 percent said it was because their sleep patterns are out of sync; 20 percent said being inside for the majority of the day is the reason for their insomnia; 18 percent are stressed about money issues; and 5 percent think it’s due to a lack of exercise during the day.

Vaccines for other diseases still important during pandemic. The Illinois Department of Public Health issued a reminder this week that kids should still receive routine vaccinations. Vaccines help protect children from diseases like chickenpox and pertussis, which remain common in the U.S.

“While much of our focus is on COVID-19 these days, we must continue to take care of all of our health needs,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike.  “Vaccines are one of the safest and most effective methods to protect children from more than a dozen vaccine-preventable diseases.  Make sure your children are fully vaccinated so they can be as healthy as possible while facing the ongoing risk of COVID-19.”

The immunization requirements for the 2020-2021 school year are the same as last year.  The requirements can be found on the IDPH website under immunizations. 

Adults, too, should get a flu, tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, shingles and pneumococcal vaccines or boosters, depending on age and other factors.

For more information about immunizations, including vaccination schedules for infants, children, teens and adults, visit http://www.dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/prevention-wellness/immunization.  Adults can also take a vaccine quiz to see what vaccines are recommended at https://www2.cdc.gov/nip/adultimmsched/.

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