State health officials report first coronavirus death in Illinois

Posted on March 17, 2020
IDPH Dr. Ngozi Ezike (center) and Gov. JB Pritzker give a daily briefing on COVID-19. (Photo Illinois.gov)

 

By Neil Doyle

CHICAGO – State health officials are reporting the first coronavirus death in Illinois.

The Illinois Department of Public Health says the patient was a Chicago woman in her 60s who tested positive earlier this month and had contact with a known COVID-19 case.

“I am deeply saddened by the news that we’ve dreaded since the earliest days of this outbreak: the first COVID-19 related death in Illinois,” said Governor JB Pritzker Tuesday during a news conference. “All of Illinois stands with this patient’s family and loved ones in mourning her loss and honoring her memory. May her memory be a blessing.”

The IDPH is now reporting 160 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Illinois, 55 new cases since Monday.

State health officials say 18 residents and four staff members have tested positive for coronavirus at the DuPage County long-term care facility where a woman tested positive earlier this month.

“Residents in nursing homes are our most vulnerable population and we are doing everything we can to protect them,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike.  “We may see cases in other long-term care facilities, which is why it is so important that we all do our part to reduce possible exposure in the community to those who go in and out of these facilities as they provide care to resident.”

Currently, there are no confirmed coronavirus cases in McLean County.

Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…