COVID-19 DAILY UPDATE: Kane County Sees Its First Coronavirus Case; IDPH News Conference Scheduled For 2:30PM – kanecountyconnects.com

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UPDATED 4:30PM TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2020

The Kane County Health Department has confirmed that the county has seen its first case of COVID-19.

Kane County health officials, the Illinois Department of Public Health and the McHenry County Department of Health today (Tuesday, March 10, 2020) announced the first Illinois residents outside of Chicago and Cook County to test positive at the IDPH laboratory for coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The cases include a Kane County woman in her 60s and a McHenry County teen, neither of whom had a history of travel to an affected area and no connection to a known case of COVID-19.  Public health officials are identifying and contacting all close contacts.

“As we anticipated, the number of cases in Illinois is increasing and now includes the first cases outside of Chicago and Cook County,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “The State of Illinois continues to take action to reduce spread of COVID-19 in Illinois and we again want to encourage people to start thinking and preparing now in the event they are not able to go to work, if schools are closed, if public transportation is not available, and how else their lives will be disrupted by this outbreak.”

Presently, there are 19 individuals in Illinois who have tested positive for COVID-19.

At least one case acquired the virus in the community, but probably more.

“As IDPH continues to conduct surveillance testing, additional cases will be identified, and we will have a better understanding about the amount of virus circulating in Illinois communities,” the news release said.

In addition to the cases in Kane and McHenry counties, new cases include individuals in:

Cook County

• 70s – male
• 60s – female
• 40s – female
• 40s – male

Chicago

• 40s – male
• 40s – male

Public health officials are still investigating the travel history of these individuals and any potential contact with a known COVID-19 case. These most recent cases are in isolation and are doing well.

Lombard Schools Close Today

Kane County Case

County Board Chairman Chris Lauzen said during this morning’s County Board meeting that he had received a call from Gov. JB Pritzker to let him know of the situation.

The County Board chairman made a short presentation on the county’s COVID-19 response to the board at around 10:20 a.m.

After the meeting, he said the governor did not say which hospital was handling the case. Lauzen praised Pritzker for the phone call and for efforts to make test kits available to Illinoisans.

Lauzen said he made the announcement during the County Board meeting to let citizens know as soon as possible that there had been a case here.

“The sooner you know there’s a problem, the sooner you can tackle it,” he said.

Lauzen emphasized that Kane County Health Department Director Barb Jeffers would be the county’s official source and point person to coordinate the county’s response.

Pritzker News Conference: 19 Cases Now, St. Pat’s Parade Might Be Cancelled

Pritzker and other state and local government officials held a news conference at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Thompson Center in Chicago, where he announced that the Illinois COVID-19 count is up to 19.

During the news conference, the governor said citizens need to take part in the process of stopping the virus. He encouraged residents to make sure they have enough prescription drugs, food and household essentials and to consider alternatives for home delivery in the case of household quarantine.

“The spread will cause disruption to daily lives,” he said. “Think now about how that will look for you.”

In the Q&A portion of the meeting, the governor said state and local officials might be taking more actions to discourage mass gatherings, including some changes in voting center procedures and locations for the upcoming March 17 primary.

Pritzker said actions under consideration include removing polling places from senior living centers and making sure “nursing homes have a special day where people in homes can vote.”

He said his office will encourage actions to allow more citizens to vote by mail.

“We want to make sure democracy is in full bloom and that people have the ability to vote,” he said.

Pritzker said Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot would be making a decision, perhaps as soon as tomorrow (Wednesday, March 11), about whether the city will move forward with its traditional St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

He did note that parades already had been canceled in Boston and in Dublin, Ireland.

On Monday, Pritzker issued a disaster proclamation “to unlock additional federal resources and help the state prepare for the potential of further spread” of the virus.

State: Take These Steps to Help Minimize Spread

Everyone: Use the same daily health precautions you would for flu including washing your hands frequently using soap and water or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol, covering your cough and sneeze, and staying home when sick.

Health care:  Screen patients and visitors for symptoms of respiratory illness such as fever, cough, and difficulty breathing; wear proper personal protective gear such as gowns and masks when needed, and have employees stay home when sick.

Day cares, schools, universities:  Review emergency plans, absenteeism policies, and cleaning procedures; identify strategies for alternative learning mechanisms such as on-line programs; and consider postponing or cancelling student exchange programs.

Businesses: Review emergency and continuity of operation plans, revisit sick leave policies, and assess schedule flexibility.

Community and faith organizations: Review emergency plans and communicate with community members if events and services are changed, postponed, or cancelled.

For information about how you, your school, your workplace, and your community can prepare, visit Preventing COVID-19 Spread in Communities.

For general questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email [email protected].

National News: Stocks Rebound

The stock market rebounded Tuesday from a historic crash.

This is what a coronavirus test kit looks like. (CREDIT: CDC)

According to Global News, markets around the world bounced from Monday’s record-setting declines after President Donald Trump said he would ask Congress for a tax cut and other measures to ease the pain of the spreading the coronavirus outbreak.

Earlier in the day, the Dow Jones industrial average jumped as much as 873.87 points, or 3.6 percent, at the open, signaling a comeback from Monday’s massive market rout.

According to CNN, President Donald Trump says he would press lawmakers to enact a payroll tax cut and ensure assistance is available to hourly workers.

U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams said on ABC news this morning (Tuesday) that the Centers For Disease Control hopes to have 4 million test kits available by the end of the week.

International News: Italy on Lockdown

The virus, known as Covid-19, has now infected close to 113,000 people worldwide and resulted in more than 4,000 deaths. The majority of these cases are in mainland China, where the outbreak first emerged — but the rate of infection has been slowing in the country, and the situation stabilizing, even as the virus wreaks havoc elsewhere

Cases in Italy jumped over the weekend, with more than 7,350 cases of the virus, 233 of them fatal, as of Saturday, according to various sources. Only China has had more people die after contracting the virus.

Italy’s government early Sunday locked down much of the country’s north and restricted movement for about a quarter of the Italian population.

According to Worldometer, there are 118,799 cases and 4,269 deaths worldwide, as of 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

World health officials say the mortality rate for COVID-19 is 3.4% globally, higher than previous estimates of about 2%.

Global case numbers are reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) in their coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation reportexternal icon. For U.S. information, visit CDC’s COVID-19 in the U.S.

CDC: COVID-19 U.S. at a Glance

Updated March 10, 2020

The following data represent cases detected and tested in the United States through U.S. public health surveillance systems since Jan. 21, 2020.

This includes both confirmed and presumptive positive cases reported to CDC. It does not include people who returned to the U.S. via State Department-chartered flights.

• Total cases: 647
  • Travel-related: 83
  • Person-to-person spread: 36
  • Under Investigation: 528
• Total deaths: 25
• States reporting cases: 36

IDPH: COVID-19 in Illinois Test Results

The following is information regarding the number of persons under investigation updated on March 9, 2020.
Information to be updated on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

• Positive (confirmed): 19
  
• Negative — 244
• Preliminary Positive (pending CDC): 63
  
• Total PUI — 326

Important Links

CDC: What You Should Know

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