Two More Cases Of Coronavirus Confirmed In Kendall County

KENDALL COUNTY, IL - The Kendall County Health Department announced Saturday, March 21,that two more cases of new coronavirus infection had been confirmed in the county. The patients are a woman in her 40s and a man in his 50s, and neither has any recent history of travel abroad. There are now three confirmed cases of the infection in Kendall County; according to the Illinois Department of Public Health, there were 753 confirmed coronavirus cases and six coronavirus deaths in the state as of Saturday evening.

In response to the growing number of cases, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker issued a 'stay at home' order on Saturday, asking all residents to stay in their homes and only leave for 'essential reasons.' These 'essential reasons' include going to get groceries, medicine and other essential supplies, seeking medical attention, and going to work for those professions where working from home is impossible. The shelter in place order is set to last until Tuesday, April 7.

The new coronavirus infection is classified as a pandemic by the World Health Organization; this refers to the virus' spread to over 100 countries but not necessarily to its severity. The illness is most dangerous to the elderly, those with immune system deficiencies and those with underlying health issues such as diabetes and obesity. However, young, relatively healthy people can still be infected by the virus, and even people who can tough the illness with only mild symptoms can still pass it on to other, more vulnerable individuals.

It is for these reasons that all Illinois residents are asked to practice good hygiene and social distancing, in addition to the shelter in place order. This means washing hands often, regularly sanitizing high-use surfaces, avoiding public social situations as much as possible and maintaining at least six feet between individuals when socializing in public is unavoidable.

John Hopkins University recently launched a site for tracking the spread of coronavirus around the world in real time. As of Saturday evening, the site's information claimed there were 26,138 confirmed cases and 336 deaths in the U.S., of 306,395 confirmed cases and 13,031 deaths globally. More optimistically, the university's site also said that 176 people in the U.S. who contracted coronavirus have since recovered, of the 92,372 people that have recovered globally.

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