It’s what health experts have feared since the spring, another COVID-19 surge.
“COVID is here, and it’s here with a vengeance,” said Mary Anderson, Manager of Infection Control & Prevention at Edward Hospital in Naperville.
Anderson, a medical expert with over 30 years of experience, said she’s never seen anything like the COVID-19 pandemic, and warns it won’t go away overnight.
Record Amount Of COVID Cases
Currently Edward Hospital is treating a record 71 of patients with confirmed cases of COVID-19, Anderson says the novel virus affects those of all ages.
“On the inpatient side patients tend to be a little sicker, a little older, or have chronic health conditions,” said Anderson. “But our out-patient testing we have seen patients of every age, from infants to people in their 90s and 100s.”
Edward Hospital currently has 3-inpatient units, which amounts to about 90 beds for people with COVID-19
Anderson said it’s possible the Naperville hospital might see 100 active cases, so to deal with a potential over surge, Edward is currently working on adding an additional 30 beds.
COVID Cases On The Rise
COVID-19 surges are now a common thread throughout the state. Illinois’ 11 regions are all currently under some sort of enhanced mitigations.
Naperville too is seeing record numbers of active COVID-19 cases. According to the city’s dashboard Naperville currently has 429 confirmed cases.
Upcoming Holidays
With the holiday season soon-to-come, which means friends and families gathering together to celebrate, COVID-19 cases across the state may rise.
“Anytime we gather together as a group we increase our risk for transmission and exposure to COVID-19,” said Anderson. “So we have to continue to be really careful to do all of those things. Wear our masks, clean our hands, keep our distance. Those are still really, really important even though we’re tired of doing them.”
Anderson said their experience this spring has helped prepare nurses, doctors, and the entire Edward team to deal with the continued expected rise of COVID-19 cases.
Naperville News 17’s Christian Canizal reports.
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