LEE COUNTY — The acts of generosity and kindness are being seen all across our community. During today’s Unified Executive Leadership Team Meeting, CEO/President of KSB Hospital Dave Schreiner reported that several companies have donated a quantity of N-95 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) masks for healthcare workers.  Supplies of PPE like masks, gowns and gloves are in short supply around the country with no end in sight. These are critical pieces of equipment for the safety of our nurses, doctors, paramedics, and long-term care providers. This team thanks the community for answering this call for help and continues to ask for further PPE donations. 

Local leaders are working closely with business owners to help during the “Stay at Home” order. The goal is to work together to ensure businesses who remain open are ensuring proper social distancing and compliance with the executive order.  This team and other local community leaders are committed to working with these businesses to provide support wherever possible.  Dixon Chamber of Commerce and Main Street is acting as a key resource hub for local businesses and their employees.  DCCMS recently launched a COVID-19 website at www.dixonprepared.com 

“Feeding The Hungry” will be moving from The Living Well Church to the KSB Emergency Department Parking Lot on Tuesday and Thursday’s from 5:00 - 6:00 PM.  St. Anne Church hosts the program on Wednesday evenings from 6:00 - 7:00.  Meals are available to anyone in need with no questions asked.

“Essential” Business Questions:

If you are a business and not sure how you are affected by the "Stay at Home" Executive Order: The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) can help you decipher the Executive Order.

Please feel free to direct questions to 1-800-252-2923 or CEO.support@illinois.gov. 

The Governor’s Office is in the process of collecting and responding to questions regarding the state’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak. To help facilitate that process, they have created an email address, Gov.COVID19stakeholder@illinois.gov, where citizens may send questions, comments and recommendations. The Governor’s staff will then compile all inquiries and respond with answers.    

IDPH Testing Notification Guidelines:

 IDPH Notification Procedure:

• IDPH updates the case count at noon each day to be included in the updated count to be disseminated to the public.

• If the case from your County comes in after noon, it will not be in that day’s news release.

• The updated count is updated on the IDPH website during the Governor’s news conference.

• The news conference for the Governor is planned for 2:30 p.m. each day.

• IDPH sends a news release with the updated count.

• IDPH asks that local health departments wait until AFTER the Governors news conference to announce cases and testing results.

• After the news conference, your County can send a news release or hold a news conference to announce cases.

Today, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced 250 new cases, bringing the statewide total to 1,535. Three more deaths were reported, bringing the total deaths in Illinois to sixteen. 32 of the 102 counties in Illinois have confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Lee County Unified Executive Leadership Team Additional Information:

Saturday, the team released this video message in response to Governor Pritzker’s “Stay at Home” order: https://youtu.be/Nwt9Hie3P_w

Donations:  LCHD and other departments have received inquiries about donations. We’ve designated a donations management person for Lee County: Lora Fassler.  She can be reached at 815/284-3371.

Lee County Courthouse:

Presiding Circuit Judge Jacquelyn Ackert issued an administrative order (Admin Order No. 2020-11) restricting access to the new courthouse to only those individuals from the public who are a “party” to an essential or emergency court proceeding. Visitors who are only present to observe a hearing will not be permitted to enter the courthouse.

Lee County Health Department:

The Lee County Health Department has released a link where people can take virtual field trips with their families over spring break.  These field trips include San Diego Zoo, Yellowstone National Park, and Mars.  Follow this link to start your trip:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SvIdgTx9djKO6SjyvPDsoGlkgE3iExmi3qh2KRRku_w/preview?fbclid=IwAR1oh7coxb0R6NSQlYg9rJ9UjFa8fow2wbtle5PkavglwBkCzz1mz8AuqJM&pru=AAABcQNaOrs*zmgr95BXTWdTxU3znzpIOw

KSB Hospital:

KSB Hospital is exploring the use of retired nurses and physicians to supplement current staff.  Efforts are under way to waive certain credentialing requirements. Retired nurses and physicians are asked to contact KSB Hospital Human Resource.

What to do if you think you have COVID-19: (UPDATED INFORMATION)

During the current Corona Virus outbreak, 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:

• Use the “KSB Care Anywhere” virtual care app (https://ksbhospital.zipnosis.com/) for a free 5 question screening in order to help differentiate your symptoms between the virus and other seasonal maladies. While a credit card is required for a more involved assessment, no charges will be applied if a COVID-19 testing referral is made.
• KSB is offering a Coronavirus HOTLINE, by which symptoms can be evaluated against federal screening guidelines, and if appropriate, a referral is made to their Drive-Thru Screening site. The screening site is available ONLY through the hotline and between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm on weekdays by calling 815-285-7777.
• Residents with a Primary Care Practitioner can also CALL their office for advice. Again, CALL FIRST before going to the office.

Illinois “Stay at Home” Executive Order: 

Governor Pritzker’s executive order to “Stay at Home” went into effect Saturday.

Essential services related to groceries, medical care, gas stations, and pharmacies remain open and will not close.  There are many other businesses that fall into the category of essential services that will remain open. 

Travel is restricted by the order for “essential” purposes only.  Interstates, highways, and other roadways will remain open.  The Illinois borders remain open.  Citizens are allowed to travel outside of their home to work, if they work for an essential business that is allowed to remain open. Citizens can also travel to essential businesses for personal reasons, such as to get gas, groceries, pharmacies, doctor’s visits, and other purposes deemed essential and outlined in the order.

Citizens are allowed to leave their house for outdoor activity, such as taking your dog for a walk, going for a run, cycling, or hiking, provided that they follow the order related to social distancing.  The Governor’s order requires people to stay 6 feet away from each other while engaging in outdoor activities.

Citizens are allowed to leave their residence to take care of a family member, friend, or pet in another household, and to transport family members, friends, or pets as needed for medical care or to obtain essential goods.    

The Unified Executive Leadership team is asking our residents not to rush to the grocery store or gas station.  Please be responsible with your purchases, so there will be plenty of food and essentials for everyone.  Again, these essential businesses will remain open and the distribution centers who serve them will remain open. 

Now is a time for our community to pull together, stay positive, and create the positive change that will end this pandemic.  We must now find ways to take this “gift of time” to create positivity in our lives and the lives of others. 

Governor Pritzker “Stay at Home” Resources:

Governor Pritzker’s “Stay at Home” order can be found at this link:  https://www.iml.org/file.cfm?key=18394

The Governor’s office also released a FAQ document related to the “Stay at Home” order.  The order can be found at this link:  https://www.iml.org/file.cfm?key=18395

Residents can go to the following websites for additional information:

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

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

For general questions about COVID-19, call the IDPH hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or 211.