Cook County records 10,000 coronavirus deaths since pandemic began
COOK COUNTY - Cook County has recorded more than 10,000 deaths caused by the coronavirus, with most of the deaths in communities of color.
"We mourn with the 10,000 families in our community who’ve experienced such great loss over the course of the last year," Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said in a statement Wednesday.
"While there is light at the end of the tunnel, this is a sobering reminder that the virus is still with us and that we must continue to remain vigilant until we’ve achieved herd immunity," she said.
The racial makeup of the deaths fell heavily on communities of color. Forty-four percent of deaths were among white, non-Latino people. Black people accounted for 27% of deaths, while Latinos were 22%, Asian people were 4% and Native Americans less than 1%.
Males accounted for 57% of the deaths while women were 43%, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. More than 60% of the deaths were among people over 60 years old. The youngest victim was 9 months old and the oldest was 109 years old.
"While most of the deaths we have seen were in our elderly community, the virus still took from us hundreds of younger residents," Dr. Ponni Arunkumar, chief Medical Examiner for Cook County, said in the statement. "We must continue to take precautions while vaccinations are underway."