March 13, 2020 – The Illinois Department of Public Health has announced seven more individuals in Illinois have tested positive at the IDPH laboratory for COVID-19. IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike stated “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.” Approximately 29% of the cases in Illinois are travel-associated, about 44% are a 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. At this time, identified cases have been found in Chicago, Kane County, Cook County and McHenry County. No cases have been reported in Macon County.
