COVID-19 Update

Indoor masking strongly recommended again

By TROY E. TAYLOR ttaylor@shawmedia.com

All persons within Lee and Ogle Counties are being asked to wear m a s k s i n d o o r s a t p u bl ic v e n u e s regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status.

The Ogle and Lee County health departments and KSB Hospital issued strongly-worded recommendations on July 31.

The heightened risk to children of contracting the coronavirus – because those under age 12 are not eligible for the vaccine – was specifically cited.

“It is our duty to protect the future generations in our community,” said a joint statement by the Lee County Health Department and KSB. “The pandemic is not over and we must continue to be vigilant in our individual behaviors and our collective behaviors as a community.”

Both health departments said the recommendations were consistent with those made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Illinois Department of Public Health.

The health departments and the hospital said employers, retailers, restaurants and bars, fitness and recreational centers, libraries, government entities, healthcare facilities and other public venues should require universal indoor masking of their staff and patrons.

According to the IDPH, the new case rate classifies Lee and Ogle counties as having a substantial level of transmission of the virus among the unvaccinated.

The announcement said that in addition to children under the age of 12, the virus poses a risk to people who are not vaccinated. According to IDPH data, that is more than half of Lee County’s population. A statement from the Ogle County Health Department noted that less than 50% of the eligible population in the county is vaccinated.

The alert issued by the Lee County Health Department and the hospital did not mention the delta variant of the coronavirus.

However, the delta variant accounts f o r 7 3 3 o f t h e c o r o n a v i r u s c a s e s reported by the state since June 8.

According to Yale Medicine, the delta variant is a highly contagious strain of the virus. It is more transmissible than the common cold and the flu, as well as viruses that cause Ebola, smallpox, MERS and SARS.

According to Yale Medicine epidemiologist F. Perry Wilson “delta will certainly accelerate the pandemic.”

Wilson warned in a release issued Friday and posted online that “hyperlocal outbreaks” are a concern with the delta variant.

A low-vaccinated town surrounded by high vaccination areas could end up with the virus contained within its borders that “allows the virus to hop, skip and jump” to other poorly vaccinated areas.

Free vaccine clinic offered in Mt. Morris on Aug. 9

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is offering a free COVID-19 vaccine clinic on Monday, Aug. 9, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church, 308 E. Brayton Road, Mt. Morris.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be available for persons 18 years of age and older. The Pfizer vaccine will also be available.

You must be 12 years of age and older to receive the Pfizer vaccine, which will require a second shot for full efficacy.

The IDPH will again partner with Trinity to offer the second Pfizer shot on Aug. 30, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the same location in Mt. Morris.

Attendees must register online in the IDPH clinic system to receive a vaccine.

You can pre-register and schedule your appointment at https://idph-mychart. pchosted.com. Or, scan the QR code at www.trinitymmil.net to access the online registration. A volunteer will also be available at the church during clinic hours to help people register immediately before receiving the vaccine. If registering onsite you may experience a wait time.

ARRIVING FALL 2021!

We’re hiring staff to serve the unmet behavioral healthcare needs of individuals and families in our communities.

We are pleased to announce that we broke ground in late April on a new branch office in Mount Morris, Illinois, located at 1 W Hitt Street. Expected to open in the fall of 2021, the new office will feature two drive-through lanes with an ATM, ample parking, and safe deposit services. The branch will continue offering personal, commercial, and mortgage banking services.

Visit our website for more details!

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Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media Brandon Albano of Polo is pinned by Chris Cade during the Open Wire Truck demolition derby at the Ogle County Fair on Saturday night. Cade, a Chana resident, won the race.

Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media Shaleigh Smith, 24, of Sterling and her passenger Dakota Cantu, 20, also of Sterling, won their Young Gun/Women division and $1,500 in the demolition derby.