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Cases down, vaccinations up in JDC

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GALENA–The Jo Daviess County Board of Health received a positive report from director of clinical services Lori Stangl at its Wednesday, May 5 meeting.

Stangl reported there had only been eight reported cases since April 30, a trend she hopes will continue.

“Cases this week are less than they have been. They had been going up, but now they seem to be trending down,” said Stangl. “We hope that it stays in that direction.”

Stangl said she is finding that contact tracing has become more challenging lately as people aren’t being as cooperative or aren’t responding to the calls from the health department.

“People aren’t responding to our contact tracing program,” said Stangl. “We are going to keep trying as some people are still doing good and following it.”

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Stangl said people have been unresponsive on health indicators that are sent via text or phone to check on their health and to ensure they aren’t spreading the virus.

Cases that involve school children are different. People are proactive in taking the necessary precautions as schools won’t let students in until they have completed the necessary protocols.

Stangl reported there were 114 individuals in quarantine as of the meeting date; however, that was primarily due to the cases involving students, which impacts more contacts.

County vaccine numbers are also trending up. “As of today 92.6 percent of 65 and older are fully vaccinated,” said Stangl. “61.3 percent of 18 or older are vaccinated in the county.”

Stangl said it is important to look at the data on the CDC website rather than through the Illinois Department of Public Health as IDPH is unable to receive data across state lines.

Stangl believes the county is towards the top in the state for vaccinations.