Madison County is the latest Illinois location to report a case of coronavirus
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The first case of coronavirus in Madison County was confirmed Tuesday.
County Board Chairman Kurt Prenzler said during a press conference Tuesday evening that COVID-19 was confirmed in a man in his 30s, who had traveled out of the country. He has been self-quarantined at his home since before testing positive for the virus and is “doing well,” Prenzler said.
Toni Corona, director of public health, said the man “did everything he was supposed to do” once he recognized his symptoms.
“Even if you are feeling great and have had no known exposure, we want you to continue to practice social distancing,” said Toni Corona, director of public health for Madison County. “What we don’t want to do is overwhelm our health care system.”
Prenzler also announced an emergency disaster declaration he said will make state and federal resources more readily available in containing the virus. Corona said she expects to see many more cases.
The Madison County case is the fifth in the metro-east and by far the youngest.
Earlier today, state health officials announced that a second person in Clinton County had contracted the virus, bringing the total metro-east cases as of this afternoon to four. The Madison County case was announced after state officials’ daily briefing.
The two other metro-east cases occurred in St. Clair County, one a woman in her 60s and the other a woman in her 70s. Both had been traveling internationally, officials said.
State health officials said Tuesday there are now 160 cases in 15 counties in Illinois, including 55 since Monday afternoon. State officials noted that the rise in the number of cases is due in part to an increase in testing.
The Illinois Department of Public Health also announced the state’s first death from coronavirus, a Chicago woman in her 60s. The woman had other health issues, state officials said, and had come in contact with someone who had coronavirus.
This story was originally published March 17, 2020 at 8:23 PM.
