Uptick in COVID-19 cases impacting businesses and community members throughout Cook County

A collection of local businesses and county officials continue to report an uptick in the number of COVID-19 cases among Cook County residents.

In a report released Thursday, Aug. 18, Cook County Public Health officials confirmed 53 new cases of COVID-19 among local residents.

Despite the uptick in the case count, as of yesterday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists Cook County in the ‘medium-risk’ category regarding the spread of the virus locally.

Nonetheless, COVID-19 is spreading in Cook County at this time at a rate higher than it has been for most of the summer. The uptick in the case count is happening just weeks ahead of the upcoming school year.

The spread of the virus is also impacting a variety of businesses in the WTIP listening area. Some local businesses are desperately short staffed due to their employees testing positive for COVID, while others have had to adjust their hours as the virus spreads.

The BA.5 variant of the coronavirus is causing around a majority of COVID-19 cases across the state at this time, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. The variant is much more likely to cause an infection regardless of one’s vaccination status, according to state, national and local public health officials.

WTIP’s Kalli Hawkins spoke with Cook County Public Health Supervisor Grace Grinager about recent COVID-19 activity in the community. Audio below.

Joe Friedrichs August 19, 2022