DeKalb Times

DeKalb County has been reporting alarmingly high numbers of COVID-19 in patients aged 20-29, an age group that is said to be at lower risk than those 60 and up. 

According to Daily Chronicle, DeKalb County was well into April before it reported a case of COVID-19 in an individual in their 60s, the DeKalb County Health Department reported. 

While it may seem surprising to some that this trend is occurring, Beth Squires, public health program coordinator for Northern Illinois University, said new viruses sometimes can act in these unpredictable ways. 

"We don't know the reason for it but that's evidence to take this seriously,” Squires told the Daily Chronicle. “You can't just shrug this off as something old people need to worry about. With the nature of this virus, anyone of any age can be susceptible."

As of May 17, Illinois reported 94,191 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, including 4,177 deaths. DeKalb County has 251 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Of those cases, 26 were in individuals age 60 and over. Cases among those ages 20-29 were more than double that number at 58.

Squires said that respiratory diseases are always more frightening for the very young, very old and immuno-compromised populations. Additionally, the reported cases of the disease could be due to the sample size of the county which is quite small, as only 2,320 of the county’s 105,000 residents had been tested for COVID-19 as of May 17. 

Squires said that it is clear that social distancing and sheltering in place are helping to slow the spread. Additionally, the decision to close schools through the end of the school year will help the state to recover more quickly, Squires believes. 

"Schools are a source of easy spread of communicable diseases like COVID-19," Squires said. "This is still going to help reduce the spread of it and the risk of transmission. We don't know who's going to get severe symptoms because it ranges from very mild to very severe and, of course, death."

While staying at home is a difficult reality to get used to, Squires said that the risk is decreasing and the longer that social distancing can stay in place, the better the overall situation will be.