Five ZIP Codes In Will County See Big Increases In COVID-19 Numbers
JOLIET, Ill. (CBS) -- Weekend plans for restaurants and bars will look drastically different in Will County, with only outdoor eating allowed after a surge in cases.
On Thursday night, CBS 2 Political Investigator Dana Kozlov had a breakdown of some specific ZIP codes with major increases.
The Will County Health Department said five ZIP codes in particular are seeing the biggest increase, with Plainfield as the epicenter.
"It is disappointing," said Steve Brandy, public information officer for the Will County Health Department.
Will County is one of the two counties in the area now forced to roll back reopening measures due to increasing COVID-19 cases. The new restrictions, including no indoor dining, went into effect Wednesday.
"We don't want all the different cities to have different laws, and it gets all confused," said Brandy. "We want all the municipalities to follow what the governor is calling for."
He said five Will County zip codes -- 60432, 60435, 60440, 60544, and 60586 -- are seeing the biggest pandemic surges. They include all or parts of Plainfield, Bolingbrook, Romeoville, Naperville and Joliet.
"The five zip code you're talking about, more concentrated population in Will County, so you get people living closer together," Brandy said.
Data also shows many of those zip codes have a higher than average population of people under 45. That is significant considering the highest number of new COVID-19 cases in Will County is among 20 to 29-year-olds. That age group makes up almost 20% of all the new cases.
"It's been creeping up while the older group, those in their fifties, those in their sixties, their total amount of cases has been creeping down," Brandy said.
CBS 2 asked if the health department supports more enforcement of the mandates in place to help slowdown the virus's spread. Brandy said the health department has a hotline and stressed concerns and complaints will be investigated.