While COVID-19 cases rose by 30% in one week in Kane County, hospitalizations remain low

While COVID-19 cases are rising again, the number of people hospitalized with the virus is still falling in Kane County, local health officials said.

The county remains in a “low transmission” status even though the number of positive COVID-19 cases increased by 30% this week, Kane County Health Department Director of Health Protection Uche Onwuta told Kane County Board members on Wednesday.

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Onwuta said the number of actual infections is likely higher than reported because many people are testing at home rather than at local clinics.

The county is currently seeing 81 cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 residents as of April 19, an increase from 57.4 cases per 100,000 population on March 10, data shows. However, hospital admissions are down by more than half from March and fewer than 10 people have died with COVID-19 in the last month in the county.

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Kane County Board Public Health Committee member Ken Shepro asked if the numbers reflect the latest BA.2 variant that is “highly contagious, but doesn’t appear to be nearly as serious as prior strains.”

“So far, that is what we’re seeing,” Onwuta said.

BA.2 is the largest strain in Kane County right now, taking up 77% of overall COVID-19 cases, followed by the omicron variant with 23% of the cases, officials said. There are currently no delta variant cases.

Onwuta said there hasn’t been much growth in the vaccination rate in the county. In the last month, only 0.7% of the county’s population were newly vaccinated, she said.

Health officials said not many people have followed the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation that people 50 years and older should receive a second COVID-19 booster shot.

Overall, 71.7% of Kane County residents 5 years and older are vaccinated.

The future of the county’s mass vaccination site in Batavia remains unknown. The lease for the site runs out at the end of May and several board members have previously said they think it is time to close the site because of the small number of people getting COVID-19 vaccinations there.

Kane County Board Public Health Committee Chair Jarrett Sanchez said the board is still reviewing its options concerning the facility.

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“Each month is fluid and we assess it as we go,” Sanchez said.

mejones@chicagotribune.com