A second McHenry County resident has tested positive for coronavirus, as state officials announce there are now 32 confirmed cases in Illinois.
The Illinois Department of Public Health said on Thursday that seven additional people have tested positive for COVID-19.
Those new cases include a McHenry County man in his 60s, a Kane County man in his 70s, and five people in Cook County.
“The virus is here in Illinois. While it may not be in your community now, we anticipate it will be eventually. We all need to take action now by postponing large events and restricting visits to nursing homes to limit the spread,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike.
“Guidance for this novel virus is changing day by day, sometimes hour by hour, but we want to empower people to think about what they can do to reduce their risk of possible infection, as well as spread of the virus. The state will continue with containment efforts while also implementing mitigation strategies and we’re asking for your help in these efforts,” Ezike said.
Approximately 29% of the cases in Illinois are travel associated, about 44% are contact of a COVID-19 case, and the remaining cases do not have a clear connection and could be the result of spread in the community, health officials said.
A majority of cases are recovering and approximately 94% are in isolation — either at home or in the hospital. No coronavirus deaths have been reported in Illinois.
McHenry County Board Chairman Jack Franks declared a state of emergency on Wednesday for McHenry County in response to the county’s first case of coronavirus.
The declaration activates the emergency operations plans of the McHenry County Department of Health and the McHenry County Emergency Management Agency, and requests state and federal funding and resources to combat a potential outbreak, officials said.
On Tuesday, the McHenry County Health Department confirmed the county’s first coronavirus case — a male in his teens. Officials said the man is doing well and in good condition.
Sources told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that man is a 19-year-old who is being treated at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington.
The man initially arrived at Northwestern Medicine Hospital in McHenry on March 5 and tested positive for coronavirus, sources said.
The man was then transferred to Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington to be kept in isolation in one of their negative pressure rooms.
On Wednesday, the Lake County Health Department said that a Lake County resident in his 50s tested positive for coronavirus. He is in stable condition and officials are still investigating the man’s travel history and how he could have contracted the virus.
A statewide disaster proclamation was issued Monday in order to obtain additional state and federal resources relating to the outbreak.