COUNTY NEWS
By ALEXA ZOELLNER
manage situations and keep those numbers low.” There are roughly 4,000 children between ages 5 and 11 in Ogle County, but only 570 are fully vaccinated, Auman noted. The age range is “ lagging behind.” “We’re trying to work with schools to get those numbers up, as well as promoting vaccination for the [5- to 11-year-olds],” he said. Health department staff also are working closely with long-term care facilities, all of which have “many cases,” Auman said. The cases include breakthroughs and reinfections, he said. “Several of our long-term care facilities are considered to be in ‘outbreak’ currently,” he said. “It’s a very tough situation that they’re facing right now. “Not only are they caring for very sick residents, but they’re also dealing with staff shortages, and then you add in [additional] staff shortages due to
COVID illness in those personnel,” Auman said. “So I really feel for the long-term care facilities in our county.” The IDPH website puts Region 1’s intensive care unit bed availability at 7% as of Jan. 17. “There are federal resources coming to Rockford hospitals to help out with the situation,” Auman said. “As recently as a week ago, there were only two ICU beds available in those Rockford hospitals where those federal teams are assisting with support.” Twenty-five people died from COVID-19 in Ogle County between Dec. 1 and Jan. 18, which is a “significant number of deaths,” Auman said. It brings the county’s total COVID-19 deaths since the pandemic began to 120, he said. “It is a little bit of a cause for concern, as we went many months in the fall without very many deaths,” Auman noted. “So we’re continuing to keep an eye on that.” In a Jan. 11 interview, Auman stated most people who died in the past two months were not vaccinated. A total of 54.02% of Ogle County’s population are fully vaccinated, with 68,176 vaccines having been administered, Auman said. Of those doses, 13,368 were boosters. In other business, board members approved spending $86,395 from the county’s American Rescue Plan Act’s funds.
Pfizer, Moderna and J & J vaccines and boosters will be available, plus vaccines for 5- to 17-year-old youth. The vaccinations are free. Trinity Lutheran Church is located at 308 E. Brayton Road, Mt. Morris.
Although not necessary, registration can be done by going to Trinity’s website (www.trinitymmil.net) and following the link established for these clinics. Individuals may call the church office at 815-734-6354 if further information is needed.
azoellner@shawmedia.com OREGON – Ogle County’s COVID-19 positivity rate and total number of cases have risen since last week, according to county Public Health Administrator Kyle Auman. “We’re still experiencing higher numbers – some of the highest numbers that we’ve seen since the beginning of the pandemic,” Auman told Ogle County Board members during their Jan. 18 meeting. As of that time, the county’s positivity rate was 22.58%, and there were 1,739 cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 people, he said. The rate of cases is calculated by taking a county’s number of cases over the previous seven days, dividing that by the county’s population and multiplying the result by 100,000, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. Auman said his department has followed 12,073 COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic. Currently, they’re following 2,510 active cases and 626 associated close contacts, he said. Schools are the No. 1 place people are exposed to COVID-19, Auman said. More than 1,600 cases associated with schools have been identified in Ogle County, he said. “[Schools are] more than double the next identified exposure location,” Auman said. “So we work very diligently and closely with the schools to try to
Kyle Auman
FREE CLINIC
Vaccine clinic offered at Mt. Morris church MT. MORRIS – Trinity Lutheran Church, Mt. Morris, will be hosting a COVID-19 vaccination clinic on Friday, Feb. 11, from 1 to 5 p.m.
OREGON POLICE Oregon Police Chief Shawn Melville reports the following police activity. Dec. 27 Eddie T. Longs, 48, of Rockford, was arrested at 2:30 p.m. for possession of a controlled substance. A passenger in Longs vehicle, Michelle L. Linder, 41, of Rockford, also was arrested for obstructing identification, resisting/obstructing a peace officer, possession of drug paraphernalia and improper container as a passenger. Both Longs and Linder were transported to the Ogle County Jail. These violations occurred in the 600 block of Gale Street. Jan. 4 Anthony M. Wolfe, 19, of Mt. Morris, was arrested at 11:50 a.m. for a theft that occurred from Illinois Tire and Auto located at 107 E. Washington St., Oregon. Wolfe was transported to the Ogle County Jail. Jan. 6 At 7:52 a.m., police responded to a
two-vehicle traffic crash in the 100 block of South Fourth Street, involving a 2009 International snowplow driven by IDOT employee Nicholas J. Lung, 59, of Leaf River, and a 2018 Chevrolet driven by Kayla R. Gridley, 32, of Dixon. No citations were issued. At 3:39 p.m., police responded to a two-vehicle traffic crash at the intersection of North River Road and East Washington Street involving a 2006 Ford driven by Sheila J. Miller, 48, of Dixon, and a 2005 Chevrolet driven by William R. Knight, 58, of Macomb. No citations were issued. At 7:05 p.m., police responded to a two-vehicle traffic crash in the 300 block of West Washington Street involving a 2008 BMW driven by Malek K. Shaabneh, 27, of Oregon, and a 2002 Volkswagen driven by Jacob E. Carlson, 18, of Genoa. No citations were issued. Jan. 8 At 8 p.m., police responded to a distur-
bance call in the 200 block of North Nohe Avenue resulting in the arrest of Richard L. Gallagher, 37, of Oregon, on two outstanding Ogle County warrants, one for failure to appear on a possession of methamphetamine warrant and one for a petition to revoke probation warrant for possession of methamphetamine. Gallagher was transported to the Ogle County Jail. Jan. 10 At 9:41 a.m., police responded to a two-vehicle traffic crash in the 400 block of Monroe Street involving a 2012 Chevrolet driven by Theodore F. Grzywa, 93, of Oregon, and a 2011 Toyota driven by Patricia K. Farraday, of 82, Oregon. No citations were issued. Jan. 12 At 8:54 a.m., police took a report of a hit-and-run that had occurred Jan. 8 involving an unknown vehicle that had struck a parked 2019 Toyota belonging to
Megan L. Elvin, 27, of Rochelle, Anyone who may have information regarding this incident, please contact the Oregon Police Department at 815-732-2162. Jan. 14 At 3:47 p.m., police responded to a two-vehicle traffic crash in the 200 block of West Washington Street involving a 2008 Cadillac driven by Leon J. Brickl, 84, of Rochelle, and a parked 2014 Chevrolet belonging to Robert C. Parker, Jr., 65, of Orland Park. No citations were issued. Jan. 15 Jose M. Jurado-Ortiz, 34, of Rockford, was issued a citation at 12:30 p.m. for speeding, 45 mph in a 30 mph zone. This violation occurred in the 600 block of North Fourth Street.
Please note: Any arrests listed are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proved guilty in a court of law.
OGLE COUNTY NEWS Ogle County Newspapers / oglecountynews.com • Friday, Jan 21, 2022
Health administrator says COVID-19 rates rising
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