New COVID-19 cases nearly double in Knox County; no deaths reported since April 15

Mike Stucka, Sam Lisec
·3 min read
In 2020, the COVID pandemic cancelled graduations across the country. In Florida, Cocoa Beach Jr./Sr. High School came up with an alternative: a beach walk in their caps and gowns 6feet apart. The event was so popular, it is now a tradition the day before their actual graduation.
In 2020, the COVID pandemic cancelled graduations across the country. In Florida, Cocoa Beach Jr./Sr. High School came up with an alternative: a beach walk in their caps and gowns 6feet apart. The event was so popular, it is now a tradition the day before their actual graduation.

GALESBURG — New COVID-19 cases continue to surge in Knox County, climbing for a fifth straight week and nearly doubling the number of cases the week before.

Knox County reported 188 cases of COVID-19 for the week. That's the highest weekly total since 212 cases were reported Feb. 7 as the spread of the omicron variant was slowing down in Knox County. Ninety-five cases were reported the previous week in the county.

COVID cases: Masks again? COVID transmission risk rises to 'high' in Knox County, according to CDC

Knox County’s transmission risk last week increased from a “medium” to “high” status, according to the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID tracker website.

Throughout the pandemic, Knox County has reported 13,005 cases and 215 deaths. The last reported death from COVID-19 was April 15.

While the number of COVID cases in Knox County has increased, the number of coronavirus cases in Illinois at large has decreased by 8.3%. Illinois reported 36,843 new cases of coronavirus in the week ending Sunday, May 29. The previous week had 40,193 new cases of the virus.

Illinois ranked seventh among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. With 3.81% of the country's population, Illinois had 5.25% of the country's cases in the last week.

Across Illinois, cases fell in 46 counties, with the best declines in Cook County, with 16,301 cases from 18,084 a week earlier; in DuPage County, with 3,030 cases from 3,778; and in Lake County, with 2,403 cases from 2,898.

Weekly cases: COVID-19 cases up fourth straight week in Knox County, highest total since omicron faded

Across the country, 32 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before. In the latest week, coronavirus cases in the United States decreased 11.3% from the week before, with 702,236 cases reported.Within Illinois, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Logan County with 486 cases per 100,000 per week; Sangamon County with 473; and Peoria County with 390. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.

Adding the most new cases overall were Cook County, with 16,301 cases; DuPage County, with 3,030 cases; and Lake County, with 2,403. Weekly case counts rose in 54 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Sangamon, St. Clair and Peoria counties.

In Illinois, 45 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 56 people were reported dead.

A total of 3,286,377 people in Illinois have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 36,239 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 83,984,644 people have tested positive and 1,004,733 people have died.

>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States

Illinois's COVID-19 hospital admissions rising

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, May 29.

Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

  • Last week: 3,197

  • The week before that: 3,039

  • Four weeks ago: 2,498

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

  • Last week: 55,952

  • The week before that: 52,036

  • Four weeks ago: 41,964

Hospitals in 34 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 33 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 35 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.

The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Galesburg Register-Mail: New COVID-19 cases nearly double in Knox County; no deaths reported