© 2024 WNIJ and WNIU
Northern Public Radio
801 N 1st St.
DeKalb, IL 60115
815-753-9000
Northern Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
WNIJ News and NPR is committed to connecting you with the latest news related to COVID-19 in northern Illinois and across the country. We are taking precautions to keep staff safe while providing you with the resources you need. Thank you for your continued support which allows us to remain your trusted source on the coronavirus pandemic.

Winnebago County Announces 54 New COVID-19 Cases And PPE Purchasing Initiative

Winnebago County announced 54 new COVID-19 cases Monday, putting the total number of cases at 616.  Dr. Sandra Martell is with the Winnebago County Health Department. She said many of these cases were in areas of concern, such as nursing homes. 

"I want to remind the public, we anticipated more cases with more testing, and our modeling indicated this time frame would be our peak, even with social distancing practices in place," Martell said. "So we continue to monitor and watch over the next week.”

Winnebago County Board Chairman Frank Haney says data doesn’t currently support an immediate reopening, and he criticized opening individually by city or county as a “political” move.

The Rockford Area Economic Development Council also announced a new resource for local companies seeking personal protective equipment.

Council President Nathan Bryant said the Community Resource Center will accept orders from companies for smaller quantities of masks, sanitizers, and other face protection. The Center would then place an order as a whole as companies aim to increase overall safety.

"Large companies, medium companies, small companies -- if we’re aggregating our purchasing power as a region -- we will be able to together create more of an adequate response as we move forward for that.”

The Center will place the orders twice per week as needed.