More COVID-19 cases reported in Cook County over Labor Day weekend

As summer winds down and a new school year is set to begin this week, the case count for COVID-19 in Cook County continues to climb.

As of Sept. 6, there are 204 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Cook County, including two new cases reported over Labor Day weekend.

Despite a high vaccination rate among the local population, one-fifth of Cook County residents are either unvaccinated or have tested positive for the new coronavirus that causes COVID-19, according to local public health officials. This includes those 11 and younger who are not yet eligible to receive the vaccine. At least 3,876 Cook County residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine. There are 5,600 Cook County residents, according to the recently released census data from 2020.

Given the increase in virus transmission locally and interest in current data on COVID-19, weekly updates will again be published on the local hub site each week. The local public health team updates and manages the comprehensive and public database. Weekly updates will include the number of new cases reported in the last week, total cases since the start of the pandemic, number of deaths and vaccine data for Cook County.

With the start of the school year this week and cold weather meaning people are likely to start spending more time indoors, the case count is likely to continue going up in Cook County in the weeks and potentially months ahead, local healthcare officials recently told WTIP.

WTIP’s Joe Friedrichs spoke with Cook County Public Health Supervisor Grace Grinager on Labor Day (Sept. 6) to learn about the current COVId-19 situation in the community as the pandemic continues into the fall months. Audio below.

Joe Friedrichs September 6, 2021