LEE COUNTY — Since Aug. 24, the Lee County Health Department has reported 6 inmates and two employees at the Dixon Correction Center have reported positive for COVID-19.

A total of 29 new cases have been reported since Aug. 24: 1 in his or her teens, 5 in his or her 20s, 1 in his or her 30s, 5 in his or her 40s, 2 in his or her 50s, and 1 in his or her 80s. The 8 cases reported on Aug. 31, and the three cases from the Dixon Correctional Center, reported on Sunday, Aug. 30, did not include ages.

This brings the total cases to 242 as of Aug. 31. The Lee County Health Department reports that 212 of the 242 positive cases have recovered thus far, as of Aug. 31. 

Lee County Health Department said they also now have four residents who have been hospitalized.

Please continue, or if you haven’t been-start, to follow the recommendations. It’s easy to remember as the 3 W’s:  Wash your hands; Watch your distance; and Wear your mask. We don’t want to backtrack from the great work our community has done. We all have to do our part.

Contact Tracing

If your local health department tries to contact you, please answer or return their call. Some people may feel distrustful or afraid of the term “contact tracing.” This is actually a strategy used for many years in public health to reduce the spread of infectious disease. Contact tracing is a critical piece of our mitigation efforts against COVID-19. More information can be found at this link:  https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/contact-tracing.html 

What to do if you think you have or have been exposed to COVID-19

During the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals with symptoms SHOULD NOT GO to health care facilities such as hospitals, clinics, and urgent care centers without CALLING FIRST. Instead, they can seek care by using one of the following options:

Testing:

Anyone with COVID-19 like symptoms (cough, shortness of breath, muscle pain, chills, sudden loss of taste and or smell and fever) OR who have a risk factor, such as contact with someone confirmed to have COVID-19, a compromised immune system or a serious chronic medical condition can get a test, even without a doctor’s order. And now the following people can be tested with or without symptoms.  

• Work in health care facility

• Work in correctional facilities, such as jails or prisons

• Serve as first responders, such as paramedics, emergency medical technicians, law enforcement officers, or firefighters

• Support critical infrastructure , such as workers in grocery stores, pharmacies, restaurants, gas stations, public utilities, factories, childcare and sanitation.

Call the KSB Hotline Monday-Friday, 9-5 at 285-7777 to determine eligibility for testing. 

Residents can go to the following websites for additional information:

Go to KSB, LCHD, IDPH, or CDC websites.  Lee County Health Department provides regular updates on its Facebook page.

• https://www.ksbhospital.com/coronavirus-outbreak-covid-19/

• http://www.lchd.com 

• http://dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/diseases-and-conditions/diseases-a-z-list/coronavirus 

• https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html 

• For businesses: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/guidance-business-response.html

• Facebook: Lee County IL Health Department