LEE COUNTY — In light of Governor Pritzker’s extension of the “Stay at Home” order through May 30^th, the Lee County Health Department and other members of the unified command team are experiencing an increased call volume regarding changes in the order. Our team has no more information than was released yesterday. We expect the governor’s office will release an updated FAQ sheet by early next week. The new order does not take effect until May 1^st. Please remain patient with us as we work through gathering more information.

KSB Hospital has assisted Rochelle Community Hospital in screening 793 employees at Rochelle Foods. The screenings occurred yesterday over a 10-hour period. To put the scale of this major operation into perspective, in a 3-week period the KSB Hospital drive-thru testing has administered approximately 550 tests. Our team would like to thank KSB Hospital for their leadership and incredible teamwork in the service of our community. 36 of the more than 800 employees at Rochelle Foods are Lee County residents. To date, approximately 30 employees at the plant have tested positive. The 793 test results are due back by the middle of next week.

The State of Illinois’ testing capacity has reached 10,000 per day. This is driving up positive daily test numbers. Today, Illinois reported 2,742 new cases for a total of 39,658. There were 108 new deaths for a total of 1,795. 

There were no new positive tests in Lee County. The total remains at 18.  8 of the people who tested positive have full recovered. 

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.

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.