With COVID-10 case data reports delayed by the holiday, the most recent available data for Evanston shows cases continuing to increase as health officials around the world worry about a new COVID variant.
For the seven days ended on Wednesday, Evanston had 91 COVID-19 cases, compared to 50 in the preceding seven days. That’s an 82% increase.
The seven-day average of daily cases rose from 7.1 to 13.0.
Cook County reported a 31% increase in daily cases over the same period, from a seven-day average of 3,533 per day to 4,628 per day.
With School District 65 not in session this week, only partial data was available. It showed a decline in new student cases from five on Tuesday a week ago to three on Tuesday this week.
At Evanston Township High School no new cases among students were reported as of Tuesday, compared to three at the end of last week. But the number of students quarantined increased from three to four.
Total new cases at Northwestern University declined from 40 to 31.
The COVID death toll in Evanston remained unchanged this week at 121. The most recent death of an Evanston resident from COVID was reported over two months ago, on Sept. 14.
The city says 99.2% of Evanston residents 65 and older are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, up from 98.9% last week, as are 78.2% of all residents five and older, up from 77.8% last week. Those numbers don’t reflect booster shots.
The World Health Organization says a new COVID-19 variant first identified this week in South Africa, and now labeled Omicron, has mutations that may make reinfection more likely. Several countries including the United States are placing restrictions on travelers from southern Africa in response.
Here are charts with the latest data on the pandemic.