Two more COVID-19 deaths recorded among Sangamon County residents as cases keep rising

Two additional deaths of Sangamon County residents were reported this week as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continued to rise statewide and in Springfield.

The trends may accelerate in the next week or two as health officials learn the results of Thanksgiving-related travel and gatherings on the spread of COVID-19, according to Gail O’Neill, director of the Sangamon County Department of Public Health. COVID-19 typically takes five to seven days to result in symptoms after exposure.

“It’s concerning,” O'Neill said Wednesday. “We are seeing more cases.”

A Sangamon County woman in her 70s who tested positive for COVID-19 on Nov. 19 died Monday. She hadn’t received any COVID-19 vaccinations, county health officials said.

A Sangamon County man in his 60s who was fully vaccinated tested positive on Nov. 8 and died Tuesday, officials said.

The man’s death brought the total number of Sangamon County resident fatalities related to COVID-19 to 293.

It’s uncertain how the omicron variant of COVID-19 recently detected in Africa will affect Illinois and central Illinois, O’Neill said.

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The first known case in the United States was reported Wednesday in California just days after its rapid spread in South Africa prompted worldwide concern, USA Today reported.

The California and San Francisco Departments of Public Health confirmed that a recent case of COVID-19 found on an individual in the state was caused by omicron. The person was a traveler who returned from South Africa on Nov. 22 and was fully vaccinated.

The individual, who is quarantining, had mild symptoms that are improving, health officials said. Close contacts have been notified and tested negative so far.

Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, said in a written statement: "We knew it was only a matter of time before the omicron variant was identified in the U.S., and we anticipate there will be cases in Illinois.

"IDPH continues to perform sequencing to identify the variant," Ezike said. "IDPH has renewed its request for hospitals and laboratories to provide positive specimens for sequencing. As soon as the omicron variant is identified in Illinois, IDPH will share this information. At this time, IDPH urges everyone 5 years and older to get vaccinated and everyone 18 and older to get a booster if it’s been 2 months since getting a Johnson & Johnson vaccine or 6 months since the second dose of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine."

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Ezike added that people should "continue to take the public health precautions we’ve recommended – vaccinate, booster, wear a mask, avoid crowds, test, and physically distance. As public health officials and scientists worldwide learn more about omicron – transmissibility, severity, and vaccine effectiveness – IDPH will share that information with the public."

Presidential adviser Anthony Fauci used a White House news briefing to reiterate the administration of President Joe Biden's strong encouragement for unvaccinated Americans to get COVID-19 shots. About 37% of the eligible U.S. population, including 29% of adults, are not fully vaccinated.

“People should get vaccinated and boosted, if they’re eligible,” Fauci said. “That’s really the solution to this problem.”

It’s unknown whether omicron is more transmissible or causes more severe COVID-19 disease than the delta variant prevalent in the United States, or whether current vaccines are as effective against omicron, O'Neill said.

New cases of COVID-19 among Sangamon County residents have steadily risen since early November.

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There were a total of 455 new cases from Nov. 24 through Tuesday, or a 17% increase compared with the 388 new cases recorded from Nov. 17 through Nov. 23, based on data from the Sangamon health department.

Hospitalizations rose during that time, too. Fourteen county residents with COVID-19 were hospitalized with medical complications as of Nov. 17, compared with 19 residents in the hospital on Nov. 24 and 35 in the hospital Tuesday.

On Wednesday, 38 county residents with COVID-19 were hospitalized, and 133 new COVID-19 cases were reported, O’Neill said.

She said the rising trends likely are related to more people being inside during cold weather and contracting the primarily respiratory virus, as well as the waning effectiveness of initial doses of COVID-19 vaccines after six months.

O’Neill said people should make sure to get their booster doses “as soon as you can, avoid crowds and wear your masks a lot.”

The majority of people seeking COVID-19 vaccinations from the health department in recent days received booster doses, she said.

As of Tuesday night, 2,458 people with COVID-19 were hospitalized statewide, compared with 1,246 on Nov. 3 — an increase of almost 100%.

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Of those hospitalized, 470 patients were in intensive-care units, and 211 were on ventilators, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Forty-five new deaths and 6,119 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded Wednesday across the state.

Fifty-eight percent of the population of Sangamon County and the rest of Illinois is fully vaccinated.

Elsewhere in the region, 53% of Menard County residents are fully vaccinated; 49.5% in Morgan County; 49.2% in Logan and Macoupin counties; 46% in Montgomery County; 42.7% in Christian County; 53.8% in Cass County; and 38.6% in Scott County.

Contact Dean Olsen: dolsen@gannett.com; (217) 836-1068; twitter.com/DeanOlsenSJR.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: COVID in Illinois: Two more Sangamon County residents die from COVID