La Salle County man in 80s dies from COVID-19 complications; second virus death this year

A La Salle County man in his 80s died from complications related to COVID-19, the La Salle County Health Department said Monday.

It was unclear when the man died. This is the second coronavirus-related death this year, with eight reported within the last three months.

Jenny Barrie, a La Salle County Health Department health educator, said in November deaths are not always reported during the month they occur. There can be a lag in reporting within the state system, as the deaths were determined to be COVID-19-related after further review from the Illinois Department of Public Health.

La Salle County is at low risk for COVID-19 hospitalizations, according to the county’s health department, under standards set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

La Salle County’s community level is based on these combined indicators. In the past seven days through Thursday, there have been 17 new hospital admissions of confirmed COVID-19, the rate of new hospital admissions of confirmed COVID-19 cases was 9.3 per 100,000 residents, 4.7% of staffed inpatient beds were in use by patients with confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to the CDC website.

According to the CDC website, La Salle County has had a moderate increase in the number of staffed intensive care unit beds occupied by patients with confirmed COVID-19 within the past week. A moderate increase is anywhere from 4% to 5.9%.

From Jan. 5 to Jan. 11, there were 84 new COVID-19 cases confirmed by the La Salle County Health Department. The La Salle County Health Department has no way of monitoring at-home test results, Barrie said. There have been 528 COVID-19-related deaths in the county since the beginning of the pandemic.