DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin is signing a disaster proclamation for all of DuPage County, effective Monday morning, after a Willowbrook nursing home resident was confirmed to have coronavirus.
Disaster Proclamation:
In a press conference this morning, the chairman said doing so would help align the county with the state’s disaster declaration, putting an emergency operation plan into play for DuPage County. This will help in providing resources and aiding in response.
First DuPage Case at Nursing Home in Willowbrook:
The declaration comes after the announcement of the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in DuPage County, found in a resident at Chateau Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Willowbrook.
In this morning’s press conference, Ron Nunziato, CEO of Extended Care, said the resident is a woman in her 60’s who is currently hospitalized and in stable condition. The case was confirmed on Friday.
The number of confirmed cases in Illinois now stands at 66.
DuPage County Health Executive Director Karen Ayala says as the woman has not traveled or had contact with another known Covid-19 case, they suspect this came from community contact, but are still investigating.
The health department has taken steps to identify any individuals who have had contact with the infected resident, and have asked them to self-quarantine and be tested.
Other residents are being closely monitored for the virus.
Though Ayala did not have a number for how many were estimated to have contact with this particular case, she said in the United States, so far the number of those with contact in each case that need to be tracked or investigated is about 90.
Take Precautions:
She stressed that DuPage County residents need to follow social distancing practices, along with other advised precautions, including:
*washing hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
*practicing routine cleaning of high touch surfaces such as counters and keyboards
*avoid touching your face, eyes, nose and mouth
*avoiding close contact while you are sick, even with family members in your home
*covering coughs and sneezes with a tissue or your forearm
*wearing a facemask if you are sick and do leave home to get medical care
*avoiding large crowds
*calling your primary care doctor if you do show symptoms to get directions on how to proceed
Key Symptoms:
Key symptoms include coughing, shortness of breath, and a fever of 100.4 degrees or above.
Proactive Approach:
Cronin added that though some measures taken may seem extreme, they are in line with what has been advised by health experts, saying, “We don’t want to overreact, we don’t want to under-react. Somebody said that in these kinds of cases with diseases that spread, success always looks like overreaction.”
Comcast Offers Help:
To help during the crisis, Comcast will make high-speed data service available for 60 days for low-income families who presently don’t have internet services in their home. They’ve also opened additional Wi-Fi access points across DuPage County for all, and will not disconnect service or charge late fees.
Help Others:
He reminded residents to check on those who may be alone, and encourage those wanting to lend a hand to go to Giving DuPage to find ways to volunteer.
