CHICAGO (WLS) — A sixth case of novel coronavirus in Illinois was announced Friday evening by health officials in Chicago.
Officials from the Illinois Department of Public Health and Chicago Department of Public Health said a woman in her 50s had tested presumptive positive for COVID-19. The state-administered testing still has to be confirmed by the CDC.
The woman was a passenger on the Grand Princess cruise ship that docked in San Francisco in February. The same ship is now quarantined off the coast of California with more than a dozen new cases of the virus.
The woman is an employee of Chicago Public Schools, a special education classroom assistant at Vaughn Occupational High School, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said. Vaught serves more than 200 students with intellectual and physical disabilities.
Officials said that on Feb. 21, the woman disembarked the Grand Princess following a cruise to Mexico. She returned to work sometime last week.
She was last at the school on Monday, according to officials. On Wednesday the cruise line announced a quarantine of the Grand Princess after passengers on that previous cruise to Mexico were learned to be infected. The woman was then tested for the virus by the state and got a presumptive positive result.
She is hospitalized in isolation, and her condition is stable, health officials said Friday.
“Our city’s been working relentlessly to protect the safety and security of our students, faculty and staff,” Lightfoot said.
CPS CEO Janice Jackson said classes at Vaughn would be canceled next week as a precaution. CPS is asking staff that may have been exposed to the virus to self-quarantine at home for 14 days.
Parents were notified by robocall. The Chicago Department of Public Health will also be reaching out to students and their families individually, Jackson said.
“It was a bit of a shock,” said Cindy Ok, parent of a Vaughn student. “I’m just trying to let my family know what our next steps are.”
The Chicago Teachers Union released a statement in response to the announcement, saying in part, “We urge educators, administrators, staff and students in all CPS school communities to continue to stay informed and take precautions regarding cleanliness. We also call on the district to rapidly ramp up its efforts to clean and disinfect all schools throughout the city to prevent the spread of the virus.”
The union said CPS has assured them that Vaughn faculty and staff will be paid during the one-week school closure and any self-quarantine that is necessary.
“It goes without saying, our utmost concern is with everyone in the Vaughn school community,” the statement said.
At the Friday evening news conference, which also included updates from Governor JB Pritzker, officials once again emphasized the risk to the public from novel coronavirus remains low.
The fifth confirmed COVID-19 patient was released from RUSH Medical Center Friday to recover in self-quarantine at home.
On Thursday, Illinois health officials announced a man in his 20s from Cook County had tested positive for COVID-19. Health officials said he had recently traveled to Italy, where he acquired the virus.
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