'False sense of security': DuPage County warns residents pandemic isn't over despite vaccine availability

DuPAGE COUNTY - DuPage County health officials say they are concerned about the recent rise in COVID-19 daily cases, positivity rate and related hospitalizations.

"We are very concerned about this uptick and that our residents may have a false sense of security due to the vaccine now being available. While the number of people vaccinated increases every day, the fact is that the pandemic is not yet over, and we still have about 400,000 eligible residents to vaccinate in our county," said Karen Ayala, Executive Director of DuPage County Health Department.

Over the past two weeks, health officials say the number of COVID-19 cases reported per day in DuPage County increased by 31 percent with a seven-day rolling average of 168.7 cases on Mar. 25 to a seven-day rolling average of 221.6 cases reported on Apr. 8.

DOWNLOAD THE FOX 32 NEWS APP FOR THE LATEST ON THE CORONAVIRUS IN DUPAGE COUNTY

On Friday, local hospitals reported 93 COVID-19 related hospitalizations in daily census reports, which is the highest count since Feb. 23.

Source: www.dupagehealth.org/covid19data Accessed on 4/9/2021.

The highest increase in cases have been observed in youth aged 5-19 and adults in the 20-39-year-old and 40-59-year-old age groups. 

DCHD said it is closely monitoring reports of COVID-19 variants in the county.