Health officials said Monday that there are now 325 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Lake County and five deaths. The virus has reached at least 10 nursing homes countywide.
The Lake County Health Department reported 31 new cases and three new deaths from the novel coronavirus. This brings the total number of Lake County residents testing positive for the virus to 325 and the total number of deaths to five as of 12 p.m. Monday.
The three new deaths consist of a woman in her 90s and two men in their 60s. All three had underlying health conditions.
The Lake County Health Department also said that they are monitoring clusters of cases at 10 long-term care facilities in the county. The 10 facilities have a combined total of 36 positive COVID-19 cases.
Chris Covelli, a spokesman for the Lake County Joint Information Center, told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that three out of the five deaths in Lake County were residents of long-term care facilities in Lake Zurich and Waukegan.
There are two facilities in Lake Zurich with cases — one with 9 residents and 2 staff members who tested positive for coronavirus, and the other with 2 residents and 1 staff member who tested positive, Covelli said.
The eight other long-term living facilities in Lake County with cases include 2 residents and 1 staff member at a Zion facility, 1 resident and 2 staff members with coronavirus-like symptoms in Gurnee, 4 residents and 2 staff members in Wauconda, 1 resident and 1 staff member in Libertyville, 4 staff members in Lincolnshire, 1 resident and 1 staff member in Waukegan, 2 staff members in Lake Villa, and 2 residents in Highland Park.
“We are closely monitoring the clusters of cases at long-term care facilities,” Lake County Health Department Executive Director Mark Pfister said.
“We have been in close communication with them, providing recommendations and assuring they have adequate personal protection equipment. It is imperative that staff members at these facilities, and every essential employee stay home if they feel ill or exhibit symptoms of COVID-19,” Pfister said.
Data from Lake County’s COVID-19 Dashboard shows the largest number of cases is Highland Park with 50-54 residents who tested positive, followed by Lake Forest with 35-39 residents testing positive and Deerfield with 30-34 residents testing positive.
Waukegan has 25-29 residents testing positive. Round Lake and Libertyville both have 15-19 residents each who tested positive.
Illinois Department of Public Health Director Ngozi Ezike said on Monday that the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Illinois has reached 5,057 with 73 deaths.