By Julia Bertino
(Whiteside County, IL) An increase in COVID-19 cases is being reported in Whiteside County.
As a result, the county will be added to the Illinois Department of Public Health’s list of counties in “Warning” on Friday, April 2nd due to the high number of cases per 100,000 people. The county’s 7-day average positivity rate is now 7-percent, up from 3.1-percent at the beginning of March. That is the highest positivity rate since the end of January.
The warning label also comes as an increasing percentage of adults visit hospital emergency departments with COVID-19 symptoms. The IDPH has also recently identified two COVID-19 variants among Whiteside County residents. The U.K. and California variants can spread more easily, induce more serious illness or reduce the effectiveness of vaccine or other treatments.
How to Sign Up for COVID Vaccine Appointments in Illinois
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Looking for a COVID Vaccine Appointment in Illinois? Here s a List of Places to Check
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Castañeda is the Community Opinion Editor at The San Diego Union-Tribune. She lives in Chula Vista. @presspasslc on Twitter
I go through the motions, day to day, with a heavy, queasy, sad and almost inconsolable feeling inside my soul.
As people all over the world started getting sick during this pandemic, I worried about friends and family in San Diego and Mexico and also about my loved ones in my home state of Illinois, especially those with underlying health conditions. But in every phone call, they promised they were staying safe.
Things can change so quickly.
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In August, I learned that my dad, Ignacio, and my stepmother, Josefina, tested positive for the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Both have underlying health conditions. For three weeks, I heard my father’s voice grow weaker and weaker. At night, I had only silent tears and prayer to cling to.
22633 N. Bowman Avenue, Danville IL
County residents only
The state announced on March 26 that it is sending Rapid Response Vaccination Teams to five counties where epidemiologists have determined there is a need to administer doses quickly to blunt increasing trends, IDPH said. Those teams will administer single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccinations to residents on top of what the counties are already allocated.
The counties are: Carroll, Ogle, Boone, Lee and Whiteside. Details on doses and how to make an appointment can be found here.
Plus, following an announcement from the state, a number of Illinois counties are now offering vaccinations to any state resident 16 and older. Here s a full list.