Two More COVID-19 Cases in IL

March 2, 2020

On Saturday, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) announced that one Illinois patient (male) has tested positive for COVID-19. Today, the departments announced that the patient’s spouse (female) has also tested positive for the virus. The presumptive positive COVID-19 test results from Illinois will have to be confirmed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lab. The patients are hospitalized in isolation and CDC protocols have been implemented. Illinois has had two previously confirmed cases of COVID-19 and both patients made a full recovery.

A story in IHA’s Daily Briefing on Friday outlined the state’s efforts to keep Illinoisans safe.

Over the weekend, the CDC confirmed two COVID-19 deaths, both from Washington state. The victims were said to have pre-existing medical conditions. The latest COVID-19 data from the CDC today shows 43 total COVID-19 cases in the U.S., both confirmed and presumptive positive, in 10 states with 17 people hospitalized. This is in addition to the 48 cases among person repatriated to the U.S. [New media reports this afternoon say that there may be a total of six deaths in Washington state related to COVID-19.]

Highlights from the latest World Health Organization (WHO) COVID-19 situation report showed five new countries reporting cases of COVID-19: Azerbaijan, Ecuador, Ireland, Monaco and Qatar. Globally there are more than 87,000 confirmed cases, with nearly 80,000 of them from China. Update international travel/traffic recommendations from the WHO are available here.

On Friday, the CDC released updated guidance on evaluating and testing persons under investigation for COVID-19.

Health experts are advising the general public to use standard personal hygiene and cough etiquette, which includes:

  • Frequent soap-and-water hand washing;
  • Covering of the nose and mouth with a flexed elbow or paper tissue when coughing or sneezing and disposing of that tissue immediately, followed by hand washing; and
  • Refraining from mouth and nose touching.

A variety of resources are available on IHA’s COVID-19 webpage.