The number of active cases of COVID-19 has been steadily creeping up in Naperville over the last several months as DuPage County warns that infections are especially high among youth.
Case numbers in the city hit 1,425 Friday, up from a March 13 low of 258, according to the city’s COVID-19 dashboard.
The figures still are lower than the Jan. 12 all-time peak of 4,867 COVID-19 cases.
COVID-19 infections have been rising in DuPage and Will counties since mid-March, bringing the counties to a “medium” community level of risk.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines “medium” transmission as higher than 200 cases per 100,000 residents in the past seven days.
As of Wednesday, DuPage County was reporting 259 cases per 100,000 residents and Will County had a rate of 239.6 per 100,000.
At the “medium” level, the CDC advises people at risk of severe illness to talk to their health care provider about whether to wear a mask and take other precautions. The agency also suggests everyone stay up to date with the latest COVID-19 vaccines and get tested if experiencing symptoms.
In a news release, the DuPage Health Department said COVID-19 cases are especially high among youth, which is defined as infant to 19 years old.
Cases in this age group spiked dramatically in January in DuPage due to the winter Omicron surge, peaking at approximately 714 cases reported in one day, according to the health department.
DuPage health officials say cases began rising again in early April, and are now at about 134 being reported daily, which is higher than most other points throughout the pandemic.
Karen Ayala, executive director of the DuPage County Health Department, said in the release that vaccines and treatments for COVID-19 are now widely available and play a crucial part in preventing severe illness related to COVID-19
According to Illinois Department of Public Health vaccination data, while 75% of youth ages 12 to 17 are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, only 50% of children ages 5 to 11 years in DuPage County have received all the shots available.
Eighty percent of DuPage County’s 928,589 residents are vaccinated with at least one dose and 75% are fully vaccinated, according to IDPH figures.
In Will County, 72% of its 692,310 residents have received at least one dose and 66% are fully vaccinated, numbers show.
Patient numbers have risen slightly at Edward Hospital in Naperville since March 17, when the hospital was treating one person for COVID-19.
Hospital spokesman Keith Hartenberger said Edward was treating 12 patients with confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of mid-week.
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Since March 24, 2020, 238 patients have died and 3,914 patients have been discharged from Edward following treatment for COVID-19.
In total, Naperville has had 33,963 reported cases of COVID-19 and 483 deaths.