Health Department Coronavirus Update 0424

Lake County, Ill. — The Lake County Health Department is reporting 176 additional cases of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and nine new deaths in Lake County since yesterday. This brings the total number of Lake County COVID-19 cases to 2,754 including 107 deaths (as of April 24, 2020, 1:45 p.m.).

The nine new deaths include:

• One man his his 50s with underlying health conditions
• Three women and one man in their 70s with underlying health conditions
• One man in his 80s
• One man and one woman in their 80s with underlying health conditions
• One man in his 90s with underlying health conditions

The Health Department is investigating 30 long-term care facilities in the county that have two or more positive cases. These 30 facilities have a combined total of 472 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 68 deaths.

The Lake County Health Department continues to receive personal protection equipment (PPE) from the Illinois Office of Emergency Management and through private donations. To date, the Health Department has distributed over 555,000 PPE items to long-term care providers, first-responders, and other essential employees.  

“We are very fortunate to have strong relationships with Lake County businesses and community organizations who are eager to support our community in this time,” said Lake County Health Department Executive Director Mark Pfister. “This week, we received donations of 50,000 N95 masks from AbbVie and 9,000 face shields from a medical student group #GetMePPE Chicago. We are grateful to all who have invested their time, energy, and resources to help protect those on the front lines of this pandemic.”

Any person, business, or organization interested in donating PPE including surgical, earloop and N-95 masks, gowns, gloves, eye protection, disinfectant wipes, hand sanitizer and forehead thermometers is asked to contact Rebecca Kumar, Lake County Emergency Management Specialist, at RKumar@lakecountyil.gov. All items should be in the manufacturer’s original packaging and unopened.

Large donations that cannot be transported via personal vehicle can be coordinated through the State of Illinois website, https://www2.illinois.gov/sites/serve/Disaster/Pages/COVID-19-PPE-Donations.aspx.

News release will not be issued over the upcoming weekend. Numbers of positive COVID-19 cases will be updated on the county data hub at: https://covid19response-lakecountyil.hub.arcgis.com/

New Cases (since last update)	New Deaths (since last update)	Total Cases	Total Deaths
176	9	2,754	107

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:   

Please visit Lake County's Coronavirus Page for more information, including:

• How to protect yourself
• What to do if you are sick   
• Testing availability
• Interactive data hub
• Sign up for the Health Department’s COVID-19 newsletter
• How to get help
• How to help others    

Please visit Lake County Health Department Modification Page for information on Health Department Service Modifications.

For a list of government closures, visit Lake County's Closure Page.

If you have general questions, please email COVID19@lakecountyil.gov. Public health officials will answer the top questions weekly. Please note, the Health Department will not provide personal medical advice through this email address.

Additional resources   

On Friday, March 20, Governor Pritzker issued Executive Order 2020-10 requiring all Illinoisans to stay in their homes through April 30, 2020, to prevent the further spread of COVID-19.  For more information, please visit https://coronavirus.illinois.gov/s/stay-at-home-faqs. 

Anyone needing assistance finding food, shelter, rent or utility assistance, or other essential services, CALL 211 or TEXT your zip code to 898211 to speak with someone who can help 24/7. To receive general COVID-19 information via text message, text “COVID19” to 211211. For more information, visit www.211lakecounty.org.

Illinois has launched Call4Calm, a free emotional support text line for Illinois residents experiencing stress and mental health issues related to COVID-19. To speak with a mental health professional, text “TALK” or “HABLAR” (for Spanish) to 552020.

For general state and national information, please call the Illinois State Hotline at 1-800-899-3931, or visit the Illinois Department of Public Health website at dph.illinois.gov, or the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website at coronavirus.gov. 

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