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Illinois Governor JB Pritzker warns the new COVID-19 variants — including the Delta strand — have been proven to be more dangerous and transmissible to everyone unvaccinated. On Monday, June 28, 2021, he stressed it is important for people to receive their COVID-19 shot. Even with the positivity rates and hospitalizations have been on the decline, these new variants could become problematic.
Pritzker cited a youth camp — located in central Illinois — had more than 85 virus cases associated with the facility. He added there has been one hospitalization of an “unvaccinated adult” from the camp outbreak. According to the state’s Department of Public Health (IDPH) news release, stating that “all campers and staff were eligible for vaccination.” However, the “IDPH is aware of only a handful of campers and staff receiving the vaccine.”
IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike released a statement saying that the majority of COVID-19 cases were primarily amongst the teens. Long-term COVID-19 symptoms can be serious. Youth can easily and unknowingly transfer the virus to anyone with compromised immune systems.
According to a news release, some camp attendees later attended a nearby conference which led to 11 additional COVID-19 cases. The outbreaks have been documented in Adams and Schuyler counties.
The Schuyler County Health Department informed the public there was an outbreak of COVID-19 at The Crossing Camp in Rushville. According to the facility’s website, the camp offers “christ-centered camps for youths k-12.”
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is working with Illinois’ health department to handle the outbreak. Currently, they are trying to “identifying the presence of any specific variants in this outbreak.”
As of June 28, the IDPH had identified 9,697 COVID-19 variants in Illinois. That number includes 84 cases of the Delta variant. The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned vaccinated individuals should still wear face masks to protect against community COVID-19 transmission.
Pritzker stated that his administration expects the Delta variant “to dominate our cases statewide by the fall.” Even though the state of Illinois no longer requires a face covering, Pritzker and others appeared at a news conference in Chicago. They were there in the North Lawndale community to celebrate the opening of a business center.
It is important for everyone to still be cautious while they are out and about. Yes, there have been fewer cases of the virus appearing but the variants are unpredictable and extremely dangerous. It is always better to be safe than sorry.
Written by Sheena Robertson
Source:
Illinois Newsroom: Pritzker Warns COVID-19 Delta Variant Could Dominate In Illinois By Fall; by Jerry Nowicki
Top and Featured Image Courtesy of Illinois Public Radio’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inline Image Courtesy of Randy von Liski’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License