Quincy Reporter

Adams County is on track to see a total of 967 deaths in 2020, down from 984 in 2019 and lower than the five year average of 981, according to an analysis by the Quincy Reporter.

County Corner John V. Myers has recorded a total of 795 deaths in 2020 through Oct. 27., according to public records.

Adams County’s population is just over 65,000. Between 1.40 percent and 1.55 percent of residents typically die each year, 80 percent of whom are over age 65.

COVID-19 is being blamed for 20 deaths in Adams County this year, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), or 2.52 percent of the total.

As a cause of death in Adams County, this would rank behind cancer (24 percent in 2019), heart disease (19 percent), chronic lower respiratory diseases like asthma and bronchitis (six percent), stroke (five percent), Alzheimer’s Disease (4.5 percent), accidents (three percent) and diabetes (three percent).

Adams County officials have thus far released limited details about the circumstances of and possible contributing factors in the 20 COVID-19 deaths they are reporting.

Of the 20 alleged to have died by COVID-19, 19 were over age 70 and 14 were over age 80. Eleven are women and nine are men. 

One of the 20, the first alleged Adams County COVID-19 death, reported in April, was a woman in her 60s whose primary cause of death was actually cardiac arrest, sources tell the Quincy Reporter

All told, Gov. J.B. Pritzker says 9,522 Illinoisans have died due to COVID-19 in 2020, or approximately nine percent of all deaths. 

A majority of alleged COVID-19 deaths have occurred in nursing homes, according to IDPH. The agency reports that ten of the 20 deaths in Adams County occurred in nursing homes. 

In Union County, across the Mississippi River from Cape Girardeau, Mo. in far southwestern Illinois, 20 of 25 reported deaths occurred in nursing homes. 

In Jefferson County in central southern Illinois, 39 of 48 reported deaths were in nursing homes.

Adams County deaths trending to four year low
2020, the year of COVID, will see fewer, not more deaths in Adams County.
Year	Deaths	Population	County Death Rate
2008	968	67,183	1.44%
2009	893	67,282	1.33%
2010	860	67,160	1.28%
2011	936	67,211	1.39%
2012	886	67,139	1.32%
2013	938	66,999	1.40%
2014	888	66,966	1.33%
2015	970	66,835	1.45%
2016	940	66,475	1.41%
2017	998	66,057	1.51%
2018	1,011	65,623	1.54%
2019	984	65,435	1.50%
2020	967	65,292	1.48%

Adams County Deaths attributed to Covid
Date	Sex	Age
Apr 29	Female	60s
Jul 29	Female	90s
Aug 1	Female	70s
Aug 3	Male	70s
Aug 4	Male	70s
Aug 10	Male	90s
Aug 11	Female	100s
Sept 1	Male	80s
Sept 1	Male	80s
Sept 5	Male	90s
Oct 8	Male	90s
Oct 14	Female	80s
Oct 14	Female	80s
Oct 14	Male	80s
Oct 19	Male	90s
Oct 23	Female	70s
Oct 24	Female	60s
Oct 24	Female	80s
Oct 24	Female	80s
Oct 27	Female	70s

*Sources: Adams County Health Department, U.S. Census, Published reports.2020 death estimate is based on 795 confirmed deaths through Oct. 28

COVID: Blamed for 8.7 percent of Illinois Deaths in 2020
County and state officials are blaming COVID-19 for just under nine percent of Illinois deaths.
County	Population	Avg Annual  Deaths	Alleged 2020  COVID Deaths	Alleged % of Deaths  from COVID
Cook	5,150,233	41,084	5,433	13.2%
Union	16,653	222	25	11.3%
Lake	696,535	4,660	511	11.0%
Jefferson	37,684	452	48	10.6%
Fayette	21,336	227	24	10.6%
Kane	532,403	3,307	347	10.5%
Monroe	34,637	290	30	10.4%
Jasper	9,610	103	10	9.7%
DuPage	922,921	6,363	606	9.5%
Will	690,743	4,697	427	9.1%
Clark	15,441	189	17	9.0%
Greene	12,969	171	15	8.8%
St. Clair	259,686	2,629	220	8.4%
Coles	50,621	503	39	7.8%
Richland	15,513	210	16	7.6%
Cass	12,147	144	11	7.6%
Williamson	66,597	782	59	7.5%
Clay	13,184	173	13	7.5%
Jersey	21,773	283	21	7.4%
Clinton	37,562	359	26	7.2%
Christian	32,304	418	29	6.9%
Ford	12,961	207	14	6.8%
Kankakee	109,862	1,186	80	6.7%
Perry	20,916	237	16	6.7%
McDonough	29,682	317	20	6.3%
Winnebago	282,572	3,004	180	6.0%
Wayne	16,215	200	12	6.0%
Morgan	33,658	405	24	5.9%
Carroll	14,305	187	11	5.9%
DeKalb	104,897	737	42	5.7%
Boone	53,544	439	25	5.7%
McHenry	307,774	2,161	121	5.6%
Rock Island	141,879	1,630	90	5.5%
Jackson	56,750	490	26	5.3%
Madison	262,966	2,911	154	5.3%
Kendall	128,990	573	30	5.2%
Bond	16,426	173	9	5.2%
Cumberland	10,766	116	6	5.2%
Shelby	21,634	234	12	5.1%
Iroquois	27,114	399	19	4.8%
LaSalle	108,669	1,331	63	4.7%
Douglas	19,465	201	9	4.5%
Montgomery	28,414	360	16	4.4%
Edgar	17,161	230	10	4.3%
Warren	16,844	185	8	4.3%
Macon	104,009	1,247	52	4.2%
Tazewell	131,803	1,413	56	4.0%
Randolph	31,782	379	15	4.0%
Peoria	179,179	1,848	73	4.0%
Stark	5,342	76	3	3.9%
Bureau	32,628	408	16	3.9%
Whiteside	55,175	693	27	3.9%
Lawrence	15,678	206	8	3.9%
Wabash	11,520	130	5	3.8%
Woodford	38,459	384	14	3.6%
Marion	37,205	540	19	3.5%
Sangamon	194,672	1,992	63	3.2%
DeWitt	15,638	198	6	3.0%
Mercer	15,437	203	6	3.0%
Pike	15,561	205	6	2.9%
McLean	171,517	1,211	34	2.8%
Jo Daviess	21,235	251	7	2.8%
Crawford	18,667	232	6	2.6%
Gallatin	4,828	80	2	2.5%
Adams	65,435	819	20	2.4%
Saline	23,491	375	9	2.4%
Knox	49,699	677	16	2.4%
Livingston	35,648	453	10	2.2%
Moultrie	14,501	186	4	2.2%
Champaign	209,689	1,348	29	2.2%
Macoupin	44,926	578	11	1.9%
Hamilton	8,116	105	2	1.9%
Hancock	17,708	216	4	1.9%
Pope	4,177	54	1	1.9%
White	13,537	223	4	1.8%
Franklin	38,469	509	9	1.8%
Marshall	11,438	170	3	1.8%
Grundy	51,054	413	7	1.7%
Ogle	50,643	519	7	1.3%
Pulaski	5,335	75	1	1.3%
Henry	48,913	539	7	1.3%
Washington	13,887	158	2	1.3%
Stephenson	44,498	564	7	1.2%
Effingham	34,008	354	4	1.1%
Logan	28,618	357	4	1.1%
Alexander	5,761	94	1	1.1%
Vermilion	75,758	979	10	1.0%
Schuyler	6,768	102	1	1.0%
Massac	13,772	212	2	0.9%
Menard	12,196	130	1	0.8%
Lee	34,096	379	2	0.5%
Mason	13,359	193	1	0.5%
Fulton	34,340	478	1	0.2%
Brown	6,578	62	0	0.0%
Calhoun	4,739	50	0	0.0%
Edwards	6,395	75	0	0.0%
Hardin	3,821	72	0	0.0%
Henderson	6,646	91	0	0.0%
Johnson	12,417	140	0	0.0%
Piatt	16,344	170	0	0.0%
Putnam	5,739	61	0	0.0%
Scott	4,951	59	0	0.0%
TOTALS	12,671,821	108,913	9,522	8.7%

*Sources: IDPH, Adams County Health Department, U.S. Census, Published reports; 2020 Adams County death estimate is based on 795 confirmed deaths through Oct. 28