The DeKalb County Public Health Department has activated its Emergency Operations Center and says it’s prepared in the event a COVID-19 case is confirmed in the county.
Lisa Gonzalez, public health administrator for the department, said Wednesday the team has been reviewing response plans, monitoring surveillance systems and coordinating response efforts in collaboration with community, regional and state partners.
“Per standard operating procedures, DCHD Communicable Disease staff continue to check and monitor surveillance systems daily,” Gonzalez said in an email. “And as with any surveillance, the same approach is taken whether there may be cases of measles, [tuberculosis] or novel coronavirus.”
Neighboring McHenry and Kane counties announced their first confirmed cases of coronavirus Tuesday afternoon. Gov. JB Pritzker said during a news conference on Tuesday that neither case has any known contact with the previous 11 cases of COVID-19. A male teenager from McHenry County, and a woman in her 60s from Kane County were confirmed as the first two cases of coronavirus outside of Cook County in Illinois.
The total coronavirus cases in Illinois now stands at 19.
She said the team has also disseminated information based on recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to organizations within DeKalb County to help minimize the spread of infection.
The CDC recommends preventative measures, which include hand-washing, cleaning and disinfecting surfaces that are touched regularly by many people, avoiding close contact with people who are sick, covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze, avoiding touching your eyes, nose and mouth and staying home when you’re sick.
Source: The Daily Chronicle
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