Covering the Land of Lincoln

Coronavirus response | COVID-19 has quietly infected thousands in Champaign County this summer | Coronavirus

CHAMPAIGN — For the most part, it’s been a mask-free summer for many who regard the COVID-19 pandemic as largely over.

The numbers, however, tell a different story of a virus that’s still very much around.

Thousands of people in Champaign County alone have gotten COVID-19 this summer, and the strong recommendations from the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District and the University of Illinois to mask up now are emerging from a rapidly escalating number of cases in the local community.

“When you see the transmission rate going up as much as we’ve seen, we’re going to see more hospitalizations and deaths,” warned public health district administrator Julie Pryde.

Even with most COVID-19 testing being done at home and going unreported these days, there have been 8,307 known new COVID-19 cases in Champaign County between June 1 and Aug. 30, according to the public health district.

The number of currently active cases in the county, which had been in the 300-600 range in June and July, shot up Tuesday to 849.

About three-quarters of those currently active cases are among two age groups — 10-20, with 284 cases, and 20-30, with 323 cases, according to the public health district.

For the moment, COVID-19-related hospitalizations among Champaign County residents remained low, at 13. Carle Foundation Hospital was caring for 32 COVID-19 patients, four of them in intensive care.

Pryde said she expects some people who have been masking and paying attention to precautions will continue to do so, but whether others will resume masking, “I would be surprised if they do.”

She’s strongly urging folks to pay attention. To protect the health care system this fall and into the winter, she said, people need to get vaccinated, boosted and wear masks in indoor public places.

“I’m really urging people to hold on,” Pryde said. “Let’s get through this bump right now.”

With a more severe flu season projected, protecting capacity in the health care system is also going to require getting a flu shot as well as getting up to date on COVID-19 vaccines, she said.

For those who didn’t want to get the mRNA Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines for COVID-19, the public health district also has the more traditional-type vaccine Noravax on hand, Pryde said.

The district has also ordered the new bivalent booster vaccines — which protect against both original strain and Omicron variant strains. The updated boosters are expected to be authorized by the Food and Drug Administration this week.

People will need to have received the initial two-dose COVID-19 vaccine series to get the Omicron-specific booster, Pryde said.

Three pesky Omicron subvariants are accounting for nearly all COVID-19 cases in the US, as of the last Centers for Disease Control and Prevention update for the week ending Aug. 27.

The subvariant causing most of the cases — 88.7 percent — is BA.5, with most of the rest of US cases being caused by BA.4.6 and BA.4.

Meanwhile, the Urbana school district was quick to join in the strong recommendations to mask up issued by the UI and public health district this week. An email sent to Urbana parents and students Monday says the district continues to “strongly recommend and encourage students and staff to wear masks in large groups and inside school buildings.”

The Champaign school district is remaining mask-optional, though the situation is being monitored, according to district spokeswoman Stacey Moore on Tuesday.

Parkland College also hasn’t made any changes to its COVID-19 policies, “but it is certainly something we are monitoring,” said spokeswoman Stephanie Stuart.

Danville Area Community College continues to make masking optional but recommended, and the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District also isn’t changing its mask-optional position, but is making masks available on buses and at the Illinois Terminal building in Champaign, officials at both organizations said Tuesday.

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